The Lilani Chronicles: A Windurstian Tale
by Wandering Adventurer Lilani
Summary: The story of Lilani, a Mithran Red Mage aiming for Rank 10 in Windurst, but with more than a few obstacles between her and her goal. Her past, present and future collide, and it is her and her friends that must pick up the pieces and prevail.
1. Settling In

Ahoy there :D This is my second fanfiction I have published on this site. My first was Lost and Almost Forgotten, which I recommend to any and all FFXI fans with a bit of knowledge about Windurst. And, to all folks on the server Remora, I now have a character on your server named (as surprising as it may seem) Chykisasa :) I am a Tarutaru white mage from Windurst, level 11 at the moment.

This one, however, is very different from my first. It is based on a story I've been making up about my character on the Fairy server, Lilani. It will follow the Windurst storyline closely, and conclude when (or sometime around) my character reaches rank 10, so this is a **SPOILER**** WARNING** to all Windurstians or those who might want to experience the story for themselves in the future. However, there will be plenty of stories following it to prevent it from being just a tossed-salad version of FFXI. Believe me, there will be _much_ more to this story than just completing the game storyline.

And, as an added bonus, I am working in my friends from in game and otherwise into it. Each chapter, here at the top, I will put a key to reveal the real identities of those who I have adapted into the story. And, there will be certain things that happen that are...inside jokes in my linkshell. I'll try not to make them too exclusive, however, so that you can enjoy them too.

So, enough chitter-chatter, here it is, the first chapter of The Lilani Chronicles--A Windurstian Tale.

Chapter One: Settling In

There was a Hume in Lower Jeuno. He was standing with one foot perched on the edge of an ornate fountain, with a hand above his eyes to block out the sun. He was scanning the area for anyone seeking his services—and knew he had to be the first to offer them.

After about twenty minutes with no luck, his eyes began to wander; predominantly towards the posterior of a Mithra standing at the auction house. She had bright red hair draped over random points on her head that could be seen for many lengths on end, and she seemed to be wearing low level mage robes. She also had a sword hanging on the left side of her belt, signaling that perhaps she was a red mage. She had been standing there for quite a while, and the Hume didn't mind this at all.

She turned around and headed towards the fountain. It took the Hume a moment to figure out where she was headed, but when he did, he turned his head and hoped she wouldn't notice. However she was still headed for him, and he readied himself for a swift slap, as he had received numerous times before.

But when she was still quite a few feet away from him she stopped, still staring into his averted gaze, and apparently wanting his attention. He did a double take to add onto his act, and greeted her with a confused look.

"Ah? Oh hello Miss, is there something I can help you with?"

It was then that he noticed she was very shy. Her eyes were now squarely focused on the tips of his boots. She had her hands clasped together in front of her, the toes of her own sandals were nearly on top of each other, and her tail was delicately poised between her legs. Even her ears were tucked firmly against her head and were nearly hidden by her bright bush of hair. If it hadn't have been for her tail, she could have been easily mistaken for a bashful Hume.

She mumbled something to his boots, but it wasn't audible enough for him to catch it. "Excuse me?" he asked, now becoming a bit confused.

Rather than stepping closer into his hearing range, she stayed where she was, raised her eyes slightly, and said her words a bit louder. "Are you a teleporterrr?"

"Why, yes I am. Are you looking to go somewhere, Miss?"

"Yes. Tahrongi Canyon, please," she shortly answered.

"Alright, that'll be two thousand," the Hume replied, gratefully holding out his hand. The Mithra reached into her pocket and began to count out her gil. She seemed to be as eager to get her eyes off of him as eagerly as he'd held out his hand.

"And off we go! Thank you for choosing Dom's Teleporting Service!"

In a swirl of light and bubble beams, the two were off to the sunny but desolate canyon. In a few short seconds, they had arrived at the enormous crag that stood out from the scenery like an ant in a bowl of rice. They were on opposite ends of the crystal, so the Hume leaned around it to say his farewell, and get one more look at her.

"Again, thank you, and have a—"

He stopped short; the Mithra wasn't there. His eyes narrowed and he squinted in the sun to see where she could have gone. Just has he began thinking she'd been left behind, he saw her thirty feet away mounting a chocobo. She had jumped off the edge of the platform as soon as she had materialized, and apparently had no intention of being anywhere near him.

"And have a nice day," he grumbled as he chanted the spell Warp.

The Mithra put the chocobo into a full run, hoping the thrill and panic of going so fast up and down so many hills would prevent her from recalling her last memories of the place around her. However she soon got into the chocobo's rhythm, and her mind couldn't help itself. She recalled that sunny morning not long ago, her companion…his traitorous friend…

And then that evening. Her stomach lurched and her ears went on full alert—oh, how she had feared recalling that memory! She clenched her fists and shook her head violently to try and get the images out of it. Her chocobo reacted to these erratic movements with a high pitched "Kweh!" and a slight skip in his step. She gladly took to the distraction and calmed him down. For the rest of the ride, she focused on thinking of the habits of this chocobo, and all chocobos in general. She would think about anything to avoid any more recollections.

When she finally arrived at the gate to Windurst Woods, she slowed the chocobo down to a walk to dismount. The Mithran guard at the gate offered to take the chocobo for her. She mumbled something that sounded like a thanks to the Mithra and made her way into Windurst.

When she made it in she stopped for a moment, distracting herself with the beautiful sights of the greenery and the alluring aromas that filled the air. She began to think that getting over it would be easier than she had thought. She confidently wheeled around to the right and walked straight up to Rakoh Buuma, a Mithra who worked for the Federation by giving missions out to able-bodied adventurers.

Rakoh had been gossiping with the two Mithra at her sides, and barely noticed the Mithra approaching. "Hm? And who might you be?" she asked rather impatiently.

"I am an adventurer, ma'am, Lilani," Lilani said, consciously hoping she sounded both polite and assertive. The better impression one made on the gate guards, the tougher missions one might receive.

Rakoh straightened out and stood in an authoritative manner, "And have you completed any missions for Windurst beforrre, Miss Lilani?"

"Eh, no ma'am," she responded, obviously ashamed by it.

"I see," Rakoh critically responded as she reached down for a clipboard on the ground. She picked it up and lazily scanned the list. "We've got one here you can accept, it's for the Minister of the Orastery Ajido-Marujido. It's been out for a while now so I can't guarrrantee he still needs the help, but if you're willing to give it a shot head on down to the Orastery to see what he's up to this time."

Lilani bowed to Rakoh politely and gave her thanks. Just as she started walking off, Rakoh called out to her. "Hey, get back herrre a minute!" Lilani did as instructed. "I've got to see some confirmation that you're a representative of Windurst, and not some rrruffian come to crash some missions for kicks."

"Ah, of course," Lilani said, mostly to herself. She then took off a ring which had been on her right ring finger and gave it to Rakoh to examine.

Rakoh held it up to the sunlight a moment looking at it with both eyes, and then closing one for a more focused look, When she was done she it back out for Lilani. "Yup, that's a genuine Windurstian ring—and don't forget to get your signet as well, missie!"

"Aye, ma'am, thank you," Lilani responded, inadvertently displaying her odd accent. Rakoh picked up on it, but said nothing.

Lilani briskly made her way to the Orastery for further information on the mission. It was quite a walk to the Orastery, but she preoccupied herself once again with the scenery, but also with the words "up to this time" Rakoh had used in describing the mission. "_Just how notorious could one politician be?_" she wondered.

When she arrived at the Orastery, Lilani was confused as to whom she was expected to talk to. Everyone in the room seemed busy, either casting spells or giving directions, and there were no Minister-looking Tarutaru nearby. She walked to the front of the room, staring in wonder at the Tarutaru lined up in the center casting beautiful high-leveled spells and enchantments.

"Hey! Watch it, lady!"

Lilani's ears found the person yelling at her before her eyes could. She turned her head to see who it was, but her neck cramped and she leaned over to her left in pain. Just as she moved, a purple fireball exploded to her right, narrowly missing her tail.

Lilani remained hunched over for a moment, wondering if it was over yet. Suddenly, she became aware of that same shrill voice as before yelling at her again. "Are you all rightaru? Whataru do you think you're doing?!"

She looked up and noticed it was not one, but two Tarutaru scolding her. One was concerned, and the other more angry than anything else.

"I take it one of you knows who I'm supposed to be talkin' to?" Lilani asked, pulling her tail around front to check for damage. The adrenaline rush managed to put her back into her familiar mood of casualness and sarcasm. It was a nice change from all the formality she laid on thickly for the guards and teleporter.

The angry Tarutaru was the first to react. "You're lucky-wucky to be talking at all, missie! Do you have any idea where you are?"

Lilani, still examining her own body for scars, replied, "Yes, this is the Orastery and I was sent tah help Minister Ajido-Marujido with…" her voice faded for a moment as she picked off a bit of ash from her robe, "…something or otherrr." She then took the time to look the Tarutaru in the eye. "That's really what I'm _herrre _for now—I wasn't told what exactly he needs help with."

The concerned Tarutaru took over, "Ah, so _you're_ the one who finally took thataru mission! We thought nobody-wuddy would ever take it in time. Introductions first, though, I am Hakkuru-Rinkuru and this is my companion Kuroido-Moido."

"Nice tah meet the two a' you," Lilani replied, tipping an invisible hat in greeting. "And I am Lilani."

"Well, Lilani, be more careful when stumbling-wumbling around the Orastery. There are always mages casting and always someone slipping-wipping up! And, believe you me; you _never _wantaru to be on the business end of those mistakes!"

"Gotcha," said Lilani. "Now, just what help did yer Minister need, anyways?"

"Oh, rightaru, him," Hakkuru-Rinkuru replied, rolling his eyes. "Minister Ajido-Marujido leftaru for the easternmost Horutoto Ruins tower in East Sarutabaruta a long timey-wime ago. Of course he had to send for help and then just up and leave anyway, so no matter who would end up accepting the mission he could still call them late…"

Kuroido-Moido snorted, "That's for sure—he's so self centered in the first place it doesn'taru really matter what he thinks of you. Anyway, you'd bettaru head out there and see what needs to be done. Remember, the _easternmost_ tower!"

"Rrright," Lilani replied, raising a finger in the air as if she'd made some unknown discovery.

Lilani chose to rent a chocobo to make extra good time to the tower. She knew she had treated the two at the Orastery rather rudely, and regretted it some. However, she still decided to show her best to hopefully earn a good record the other mission-givers of Windurst.

When she arrived at the tower, she dismounted her chocobo and gave it a slap in front of the tail-feathers to send it back to Windurst. It took off running, and Lilani entered the ruins.

The main hall of the tower was an enormous square with rooms sprouting off each of the corners, and magical gizmos dotted on certain points of the hallway as well as inside these rooms. There were a few goblins and bats wandering around the corridors, however there was a look in Lilani's eyes that warned them to stay back if they enjoyed breathing.

Lilani made her way to the back wall of the square corridor and still couldn't find the Minister everywhere. She even made another circle, checking every one of the rooms, however still no luck. She leaned against the back wall in thought, but just as she did, the wall opened and she fell back into the secret hallway.

As she lay on her back, Lilani tilted her head further up and looked at the upside-down corridor before her. "Aha!" she told herself as she hopped back up and went down the hall. There was one goblin standing outside a glowing door at the end of the hallway. He seemed to be trying to listen to something on the other side. He saw Lilani come up, and she shooed the thing away with her hand. The goblin put up no fight and ran towards the exit of the hallway.

Lilani grinned with satisfaction, and ever so carefully pulled at the crack in the door. She knew there was obviously something interesting the goblin had been listening to, and she did not want to disturb whatever it was.

When she opened the door just wide enough for her to sneak through, Lilani tiptoed through and pinned herself into a shadow in the corner. She didn't close the door for fear that the sound would disturb the interesting conversation two Tarutaru were having on down the corridor. Lilani knew she was eavesdropping, but knew she could use her mission as an excuse for being there.

"Apururu, if you haven'taru come to help me, than just what _have_ you come all the way down here for?" asked a male Tarutaru, from somewhere behind a large glowing gizmo farther into the chamber.

The other Tarutaru was standing just up the hall from Lilani, right in her view. "I've come keep you from doing something stupid, Ajido-Marujido! You know as well as I that this place is forbidden, as well as your pointless experimentarus!"

The other Tarutaru was standing just up the hall from Lilani, right in her view. "I've come keep you from doing something stupid, Brother! You know as well as I that this place is forbidden, as well as your pointless experimentarus!"

"Pointless? You call seeking to reverse Windurst's disintegration-wation pointless? Honestly, Sistaru, I thought I knew you better!" Ajido-Marujido nearly shouted. Lilani could sense a spike in the magical energy in the room as the argument heated. "Everything in and around Windurst is dying, Apururu, can'taru you feel it? Sarutabaruta is becoming a wasteland. These towers here lose more energy every day. Even our night skies seem to have fewer stars in them with each passing-wassing sunset!

Everyone in Windurstaru can sense what's going on, yet nobody will do anything about it! The Star Sibyl herself turns her back on the problem-woblem. I for one will not stand back and let our country fade into the abyss—I mustaru know what is going on here!"

These words changed Lilani's mood, and resonated in her mind for a long while. "_Fade into the…abyss? Is it rrreally that bad?_" she asked herself.

Apururu spoke again, "Ajido-Marujido, you do notaru trust the Star Sibyl?" Tears began to form in her eyes. "If it is all really-weally as dire as you say, I'm sure she would have said something by now…"

"The Star Sibyl fears another war, justaru as the rest of Windurst. That's all you people are really hung up on—fear! I, for one, notaru let it hold me back!"

This stung Apururu deep in her heart. Each race had its one great flaw in character, and for the Tarutaru it was fear. It was always an unspoken rule to never hold it against them, or any other race. It was the one thing they could never control or do anything about, and it hurt each race so to think of it. To directly insult one with their greatest flaw was the worst of all verbal curses.

"F-f-fine then! If you want to turn your backy-wack on your country and family, don'taru let me stand in your way!"

Apururu dashed towards the door with the tears still welled in her eyes. She was so distracted by her own emotions that she never noticed Lilani pinned in the corner. Lilani used the sound of the door opening and closing to her advantage, and slunk back to the middle of the hallway.

She was still staring at the door in wonder of what had just happened. She was also concerned for Apururu, but before she could gather her thoughts, Ajido-Marujido called out. "And just who mightaru you be, Eavesdropper?"

"I was sent out 'errre to help you with yer mission, sir," Lilani replied, wincing at how monotone the formality was making her sound.

Ajido-Marujido paused for a moment, "Oh yeah, I forgot I even put that mission outaru…but either way it's too late." He turned around to face the ancient gizmo. "The gizmo you were _supposed _to help me restartaru has just broken down—again!"

He stopped, distracted by his own musings. Lilani grew impatient. "So…what now?"

Ajido sighed, "Now I'll be going home, but I've got one lastaru thing for you to do." He turned toward Lilani. "On your way in, did you see some smaller glowing-wowing gizmos in the corners of the corridors?" Lilani nodded. "Well, in each of those I placed a mana orb—a magical ball which grants magical energy to whatever it comes into contact with. I have a hunch one of those is broken, and that's whataru caused my experiment to fail. Find the broken orb and bring it back to the Orastery."

Ajido-Marujido wasted no time in walking passed Lilani and heading towards the door. Lilani began following him out, but just before he got to the door he turned around. "Oh, and once you're doing playing delivery-girl don't spouting off about the argument you heard here, alrightaru?"

"I had no intention, sirrr."

Ajido gave her an inquisitive look, "Strange accent you have there, who did you say you were?"

"Lilani," she said, growing a bit uneasy.

"Humph, strange alias too."

Just before Lilani could reply, Ajido cast warp, leaving behind only a fading cloud of sparkles.

Lilani threw up her head and sighed. Her very first mission, which had sounded of great importance in the beginning, had been reduced to a mere task of seek-and-return.

The gizmo containing the cracked mana orb was the second to last one Lilani checked. She sighed for the sake of her own luck, and began the long trek home.

Though all the events that had occurred that morning seemed to take so long, it was only noontime when Lilani arrived back in Windurst. Her stomach was growling and she knew she had some food stuffed away somewhere in her mog safe.

Lilani walked to the residential area of Windurst Woods, talked to the Tarutaru there to get her things teleported back to her Windurst apartment, and approached her front door. Normally there would be a moogle at the door waiting to let you in, however Lilani had requested that her moogle remain on vacation for a bit longer so she could have some time to herself.

For a moment, Lilani simply stood there. Her eyes moved from the doorknob, to the darkened windows of the house, and then back to the door again. Her mind began swirling with the dreads and fears and memories of the last time she had been in that room. She even began to wonder if it would happen again if she entered…

"No," she whispered to herself, "He's dead now, it's all over…"

Surely enough, Lilani managed to safely enter her mog house and get the food out of her mog safe without incident. She contently munched on her food as she reflected on the events of her day so far.

"_Hm…that teleporter was pretty nice...but a bit of a lecher…I wonder what Rakoh Buuma was talking about before…And that Ajido-Marujido…how _did_ he know about my alias…?"_

The thought of him knowing was more than she wanted to cope with for the moment, so she reached into her pocket to grab her linkpearl. It was a normal thing among adventurers to have linkpearls at the dinner table; especially if they had a few stories to share, and Lilani had a lot of explaining to do…

"Ahoy, Vana'diel Brotherhood," she boldly greeted.

Nothing. No response.

It had been so long since she had spoken to her linkshell, and so much had occurred since she had last spoken, that Lilani had expected an instantaneous reaction. However, there was nothing. The pearl didn't even glow, signaling that it was functioning.

"Ahoy? Ahoy? Anyone there? A—"

The linkpearl shattered. Just like that, the tiny marble caved in upon itself, fell between Lilani's fingers, and pinged upon the wooden floor as just a few sky-colored shards. Lilani gasped and quickly pulled out her pearlsack to see if it was true.

It was just as she had feared. Every single one of the linkpearls inside her sack had shattered to only dust. Absolutely none had been left in working order.

"They…disbanded? Without even a message…?"

Lilani sighed and flung herself onto her bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she mumbled her options to herself, "I don't want to start my own…but there are some people advertising for their own linkshells 'round 'errre…no, I've had enough of strangers…but what'll I do for the rrrest of the day…?"

As she lied on her back, Lilani became drowsy and her mind wandered. Her consciousness drifted back into the last memories she had made in that room. As the memories came back, her stomach knotted and her body began to quake in horror. She forced herself out of the dream and blurted out the first idea that came to her mind.

"I'll…I'll go do another mission!"

Without even taking the time to brush the morning's tangles out of her hair, Lilani leapt off her bed and set out to find Rakoh Buuma again. This time she was leaning back on the door behind her, keeping in the shade as much as possible.

"You again? One mission not enough forrr you?"

Lilani laughed, "No, ma'am, are there any other rrrank one missions available?"

Rakoh sighed and checked her roster once more. "Yes, there's one here that was just submitted by Minister Apururu." Lilani's throat tightened a bit as she heard the name. "Says she needs someone able and willing to rrrecharge some mana orbs for her. Figurrres, those things go out faster than a rarab in a wolf's den…

"Well, whaddya say, Adventurer?"

"I'll take it!"

"Alrrright then, get yourself on down to the Manustery. Apururu will explain how you go about rrrecharging them."

"Thank ya."

As Lilani made the rather short walk to the Manustery from the gatehouse, she wondered if Apururu would recognize her—given that she'd seen her at all. She shrugged it off as she opened the Manustery door and entered.

Apururu was sitting on a stool behind a desk, enveloped in two large stacks of papers on either side of her. If Lilani hadn't have had the advantage of height, she would have never seen the Minister hiding behind the towers of papyrus and manuscript.

Lilani walked right in front of the Minister and stood a moment. When she realized Apururu wasn't going to look up, she cleared her throat, "Eh, Minister Apururu?"

Apururu jumped, "Oh! I'm sorry, dearie, I didn'taru see you there! Is there something I can help you with?"

Lilani smiled, mostly in relief that Apururu didn't recognize her, "Yes, I've come to help rrrecharge some mana orbs for a mission."

"Ah yes, of course! I almostaru forgot about that, hehe!"

Apururu hopped off of her stool and walked around her desk to stand in front of Lilani. She emerged holding a small sack that seemed to have several round objects in it.

"In this sack I have here are six mana orbs. As you might already-weady know, the Manustery is responsible for creating and maintaining the Cardians, which serve several purposes around Windurst. Mana orbs are what keep the Cardians moving-woving.

When these orbs run outaru of magic, the Cardian stops functioning, and needs a fresh mana orb to go on with its duties. Adventurer…oh, I never-wever like addressing you adventurers as 'Adventurer.' Whataru is your name, young lady?"

"Lilani, ma'am," Lilani said. She hadn't introduced herself this many times in a single day since she'd first joined a linkshell.

"Well, Lilani, I hereby charge you with the task of recharging these six mana orbs. Go to the southeastern-most tower in East Sarutabaruta—that tower's the only one with enough juicy-wuce left to charge mana orbs. A guard named Pore-Ohre will be there to explain exactly-wactly how you should go about charge the orbs. Good luck"

Lilani decided to save herself the gil by going out Leviathan's gate into East Sarutabaruta and walking to the tower, rather than riding a chocobo all the way across West Sarutabaruta. It was a more difficult hike than she had expected, and she took a small rest outside the tower wall before entering.

Just as Lilani had been told, a Tarutaru was standing at the entrance to the tower she had been instructed to travel to. All she had to do was hold up the sack and Pore-Ohre explained to her how to charge the mana orbs.

"All you have to do is place each of those orbies in gizmos scattered in the ruins. When they're all in, flippy-wip a switch in the back and then it's done! Justaru go back around, take the orbs out, and back to the Manustery with you! Be sure to get every-_wevery _one—if you forget any, you'll have to come back before you can claim your reward!"

Lilani did just as the Tarutaru said. Placing the orbs was simple—almost mundane—however the task of flipping the switch got her heart pumping. A Bomb monster was in the room with the switch. Lilani could tell she wasn't strong enough to fight it, so she decided to deceive it. She propped open the stone door with her sword, and snuck over to the largest gizmo in the room while the Bomb was facing the other way (apparently beginning to doze). She felt around the odd structure a bit, but eventually struck the switch.

Magic lit up the entire room she was in, and triggered many sounds and movements from mechanisms deep in the ruins and down the corridors.

Of course, none of this got by the Bomb. It immediately turned around, gave Lilani an angered look, and roared as it began to charge.

Lilani turned to face the Bomb, slammed her right foot in the ground, and roared right back at it.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWRRRRRRR!"

Her intense roar not only scared the wits out of the Bomb, but sent it into a frantic retreat. It fled to a corner in the room, whining like a defeated puppy.

Lilani dashed to the door, swiped up her sword, and took off down the corridor nearly tumbling over herself in mirth. She was sure to round a few corners before she stopped her own retreat, and had to sit down to laugh herself out.

"Ohoho…hee heh...ha ha _ha!_"

Finally after a few drinks from her water flask and deep breaths, Lilani was able to compose herself and go on. She recollected the mana orbs from their receptacles, strolling past the few goblins that were dotted about the corridors. Before she went up the staircase out of the ruins, she did a second count to be sure she had completed her task. Surely enough, six orbs emitting a fresh, serene glow were nestled in the sack. Lilani smiled and jogged up the stairs.

As Lilani approached the last five steps to the outside, something made her ears perk up, and she stopped. She closed her eyes and let her ears move themselves about and target the sound that interested her. She heard the whimper of a Tarutaru, and a rolling sound—sort of like what the wheels of a cart sound like on flat ground. She had no idea how the two could be connected, but she knew it wasn't good. Lilani tucked the sack of orbs in her belt behind her, laid her hand on the hilt of her sword and ran up the steps.

Lilani was abruptly startled by the scene she saw. When her eyes adjusted to the light coming from the entrance of the tunnel, she saw the silhouettes of four Cardians; though they were very different from the ones she had seen around Windurst. Their wheels and cloth were worn and faded, both from time and the elements. On top of their frayed looks, Lilani sensed much more power coming from these Cardians—power so heated and concentrated that it made her nose burn and her ears twitch.

"What's going on herrre?!" she demanded when she overcame her surprise.

"What indeed!" the Cardian in the front bellowed back, in a strange, cracked voice. It was sort of like what one hears from an old pull-string doll. "Who are you, Mithra, and what is your business with the hearts of our brothers!"

"Brotherrrs? Sorry to inform you, mate, but Cardians can't have brothers...or hearts for that matter."

"Fool! The magical orbs you carry are our hearts! It seems the Tarutaru was telling the truth after all—it was _you _who had the lost hearts we were searching for."

Lilani's left hand impulsively went to her side to cover the bag, while her right hand was still tightly gripped around her sword hilt. "I have no idea what you're talkin' about. These orbs weren't stolen, they were given to me by the Ministerrr of the Manustery and—"

"S-stop, stop!" Pore-Ohre sharply wimpered. "These Cardians you are rebuking are the _Ace Cardians! _They've got enough power-wower to kill us both in mere seconds!Justaru do what they want and live another day!"

"I am not about to concede to a few staff-spinning scarrrecrows!" Lilani snapped back. The thought of surrender always made her blood boil, and only made her more persistant not to give in.

The lead Cardian wheeled itself a bit closer to Lilani, with his "brothers" following his lead. "Impudent Mithra! I'll give you one chance—surrender those hearts or we'll not spare you _or _the Tarutaru!"

"And what do you want them forrr?"

"You are not in a position to be questioning! Either hand over the orbs or prepare to breath your last!"

Rather than pointing his staff at her, he turned it towards Pore-Ohre and let a spark zap the ground right in front of his feet. The poor boy jumped clear in the air, turned to the wall, tucked down with his head covered by his hands, shaking like a leaf.

Lilani rolled her eyes. "Ah, fine, if it means you'll leave us alone." She heaved a heavy sigh and held out the sack to the Cardian. The doll hastily swiped the bag from her and turned to his three companions. They opened the bag and looked inside, however one Cardian continued to point his staff to Lilani and Pore.

"All the orbs seem to be accounted for…our business is done here!"

The leader turned back to Lilani. "You've saved your life for now, Mithra, but you will someday regret crossing the Ace Cardians!"

The Cardians wasted no time in wheeling themselves out of the tower and over the farthest hilltop, far out of sight. Lilani finally relaxed and looked down at Pore-Ohre, who was still cowering in a fetal position.

"Hey, buddy, they're gone."

"H-hm?" Pore turned himself around and took a look for himself, as if he didn't believe Lilani's word. "Whewy-whew_-ew! _Thank the goddess!" he cried. "I thought for surey-wure we were going to be goners there!"

Lilani chuckled in amusement over his cowardice, "Yeah, we'rrre fine, and now I've got nothing to take to Minister Apururu…"

"Justaru tell her what happened here and everything will be fine. This isn'taru the first time those thuggies have made off with the Manustery's mana orbs. I'm sure she'll give you a little something-wumthing for your trouble."

"Ah, thanks…and don't get yourrrself hurt."

Lilani did as Pore-Ohre said and explained everything to Apururu. When she was done, Apururu sighed and walked around her desk just as she'd done before. Apparently, the desk simply made her feel trapped and unwelcoming.

"Well, Lilani, poor Pore-Ohre was rightaru—this certainly isn't the first time those Cardians have stolen charged mana orbs off of adventurers like yourself. You see, as I told you before, Cardians need a charged mana orb within them to function-wunction. We at the Manustery compare them to hearts because of this, and so the Ace Cardians took on the same idea.

Those particularu Cardians dissapeared to be just after the Great War ended. They somehow escaped and turned wild, and now thataru they have no master to take orders from, they follow their own guidance, as it were. Now they are devoted to seeking out and gathering mana orbs, somehow convinced that they will be able to revive other Cardians which were destroyed during the war…

But, thataru part of the story simply doesn't make sense," Apururu continued. "A trained mage of the Manustery is needed to revitalize a Cardian. I just don'taru know what they hope to accomplish from harvesting mana orbs and terrorizing travelers…"

Apururu paused for a moment to ponder on her own musings, but she finally returned her attention to Lilani. "Oh, sorry—none of thataru is really your problem. I thank you for your hard work, Lilani, you were very-wery brave in front of those Cardians! Even though you lost the orbs, I will reward you in full."

Apururu pulled a rather large sack of gil from her pocket and handed it to Lilani. "I can see a lot of potential within you, Lilani, I'm sure you will go far in this adventuring business. Take care, and ta-taru!"

"Thank you, ma'am, you take care too."

Lilani looked up at the sky to check the time. It was now the early evening, and she was glad she had managed to kill so much time. She decided to throw a self-celebration by going out to dinner at Windurst's local tavern.

When she entered the Timbre Timbers tavern, Lilani ordered her meal at the front and waited for it to be prepared. She looked around the restaurant for an empty table, however found none. When her food came, she decided to simply stand in the corner and eat.

Lilani was quite content to simply stand in the corner, eating as she spaced out staring at the other patrons of the restaurant. Just as she found the perfect way to comfortably lean into the corner, she noticed a Hume beconing her over to his table. He had long blonde hair, and so much reminded her of him that she couldn't help but blankly stare into his eyes…


	2. Breaking Point

Here's chapter two! I have up until chapter four already typed out. I meant to get two published here a long time ago, but things came up and I didn't have a chance.

Disclaimer (which I forgot to put on chapter one): The NPC names, places, spells, storyline...etc. do not belong to me. Those are Square Enix's. I just came up with the part of the storyline that is revealed in this chapter.

I've been told before that this chapter is quite...fast when it comes to moving along the story. I wanted to get this out soon, to offer at least one explanation for her behavior, so I couldn't find any other way. Besides, not much else could move on until this happened. So, I apologize for seemingly rushing things along, and assure you it will happen nowhere else in the story.

And they key as to who is who: Kenshin is Neokenshin, from the server Fairy.

Chapter Two: Breaking Point

The Hume was beginning to become uncomfortable with how oddly Lilani was just staring at him. He waved his hand to make sure she was all there, and finally she came to her senses. Lilani's first impulse finally kicked in, and she adamantly refused to approach the stranger. The Hume insisted, gesturing to a free chair next to himself, though it was only him at the table anyway.

Lilani shook her head, and shyly cowered down further into the corner. The Hume finally shrugged in defeat and went back to his own meal.

Lilani sighed with relief, but couldn't help but feel bad for how rude she'd been. She replayed the events and possible scenarios in her mind, and decided that there wasn't much danger in that room. If anything were to happen, she would easily be able to attract the attention of someone else in the tavern and have the problem taken care of. She carried her food over to the table and began with an apology.

"Eh…sorry I was so rude back therrre, I'm just a bit tired from the day…tha's all."

"Hey, it's no problem, I've been there plenty of times myself." The Hume responded with a smile, scooting his chair away a bit to give her more space. "My name's Kenshin, and you are…?"

"Lilani," was her abrupt reply.

"Nice to meet you, Lilani." With that, Kenshin held out his hand for a handshake. At first, Lilani just stared at it as if he were offering her some sort of foreign object. She shook his hand and locked her eyes on her own meal, though her body was on full alert, tracking Kenshin's every movement and advance. Kenshin returned to his meal as well.

The two sat in silence for a moment, one expecting the other to begin the conversation. Finally, Kenshin turned to Lilani. "So, Lilani, I take it you're an adventurer?"

"Y-yah, I completed my firrrst two missions just today."

"That's good. Yeah, the first few missions are a bit boring, but things can really get interesting as you go up the ranks." He took another bite of his sandwich, swallowed, and went on. "So do you have a linkshell?"

"I was in one, but they disbanded just…rrrecently."

"Oh I'm sorry. That's too bad…what did it in? Lack of members? Unruly members…?"

"I…uh…I'm not rrreally sure. There was a lot of arguing, but I never expected them to just up and quit," Even though Lilani was mostly fibbing, she couldn't help but feel comfortable around the strange man. She took it and embraced it as a great sign of recovery.

"Ah, I see. Well, maybe they'll decide to reunite later. You never know sometimes…" he trailed off to take another bite of his sandwich and a sip of his drink. "Hey, I've got my own linkshell if you're interested. We call ourselves Abandon…long story behind the name, but they're a great group of people."

"Hm…" Lilani did some thinking of her own as she ate. "I'm not surrre," she managed to say around her food. She swallowed. "I wanted to get anotherrr linkshell, but…"

"But…?"

"Well, I 'ave this…eh…thing, against…i-intrrroductions…"

Kenshin giggled, "I get it, you're shy. Well I assure you, they won't remain strangers for long. I've made it clear to everyone that we don't pry for personal information someone doesn't want to give out. You've got nothing to worry about."

Lilani turned to Kenshin. He was looking straight into her eyes—straight _through _her. It was as if he knew everything that had happened to her…it was as if he had chosen her _because _of her past. Lilani's lips parted and her face was the very picture of stupor. Kenshin was startled by the face, "Are…you okay?"

Lilani shook her head to regain her senses, "Eh, yes, I am…but therrre's someth—" Lilani quickly shut her mouth and locked her eyes on her food. She had gotten far too comfortable with the stranger. She was beginning to reveal too much.

"There's what?"

"Nothing, nothing, nothing…" Lilani said, but then she suddenly felt…regret? She felt regret for not having told him the truth. She realized that she _wanted _to tell this man everything. She was utterly confused. Lilani had told herself from the beginning that she would never tell a soul—nonetheless a stranger she had just met—but every nerve in her body was egging her on.

Lilani's mindset switched over to her behaviorisms in battle, to take _some _sort of action in the midst of her bamboozlement. She began to put her actions before her logic. She grabbed Kenshin's hand, and pulled him out of the tavern.

Kenshin was now as confused as Lilani. She had pulled him into a small, dark, hidden space under a stairway. The only light provided other than from the dim magical lamps around the buildings was of the nearly full moon hanging high in the sky. Kenshin could barely see Lilani in that shaded place, however Lilani's eyes had no problem at all.

"Lilani? Lilani…what's wrong?"

At first Lilani couldn't figure out why Kenshin was speaking in such a concerned manner, but then she became aware of what she was doing. She was leaning up against the building, hunched forward with her arms crossed, and she was heaving very deep and audible breaths. Her lungs were burning as if she had just run twenty miles, and her throat was swelling shut.

She managed to switch her focus long enough to steady her breathing and relax her muscles. Lilani noticed Kenshin's hands were on her still-crossed arms. She twitched from the impulse to pull away, but the thought of someone near comforted her and she let them be.

Kenshin asked again, "Are you okay?"

Lilani swallowed hard and nodded. "T-t-therrre's…something…I wanted…to tell you," she managed.

"Alright, I'm listening."

Lilani looked up into Kenshin's eyes. They were staring right back into hers. She closed her eyes, uncrossed her arms, and breathed tightly through her nose. "Okay…oh, where to start…?"

"You see…a few months ago I was herrre with a friend. He was a Hume…looked a lot like you…a-and he showed me around. I met some grumpy Tarutaru with glasses, turns out he was one of the Ministers, and…I'm getting off topic aren't I?"

"Just slow down, I'm in no hurry."

"Okay," Lilani swallowed again. "Well, the Hume's name was Miles. He took me 'errre for the one year anniversary of the day I joined his linkshell, Vana'diel Brotherhood. The co-founderrr of this linkshell, and one of Miles' best friends, was an Elvann—Geraldioux. Geraldioux fell in love with me when we firrrst met at Kazham, the same day I first met Miles and fell in love with him.

"But…what he thought was love…was really…lust. He constantly made advances…but I neverrr thought much of it. Where I come from…Mithra just don't have problems with men wanting 'em, nonetheless makin' advances…

"Anyway, it wasn't long before Geraldioux realized I liked Miles more than him. Soon enough, the two were fightin' like cats and dogs."

At this point, tears were forming in Lilani's eyes. Kenshin held on even tighter, as he sensed how hard this was for her.

"Those fights…it torrre them apart. And by them I don't just mean Miles and Geraldioux—I mean the whole linkshell. We were supposed to rrrrepresent the harmony that was possible between all the races, but the only thing tha' began to matter was whose side you werrre on. The only times the arguing stopped was when I interrrvened and said enough, or when you turned off yer linkshell."

"Finally, at our one yearrr anniversary…everything snapped. Just as we headed to Windurst Geraldioux accused Miles, for the umpteenth time, of favoring a member of the linkshell over the rest—something which was ferrrbidden of the leaders to do. We got to the Mea crystal and Miles simply turrrned his linkshell off, and so did I. It was fairrrly peaceful ride in, and we had a wonderrrful day just walking around…

"But in the end, Miles and I decided that it would be best fer him to meet with Geraldioux in Jeuno to talk things overrr. He couldn't get a teleport so he took a chocobo and decided to ride overrrnight.

"I went to my mog house for the night…and there he was…Geraldioux…"

Lilani just barely managed to whisper his name. She was losing it again, her throat was closing and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

Kenshin whispered, "You don't have to finish if you don't want to."

"No," Lilani gasped. "I need to say it. Geraldioux spoke forrr a long time…he was a dark knight and used magic to keep me quiet and then he…h-he…raped, me."

Lilani bit down hard onto her bottom lip and heaved a huge breath. Kenshin's eyes widened and he formed a face of grave worry. Lilani couldn't take it anymore and grabbed his shoulders, put her head on his chest, and wept. They stood there for several minutes, and to Lilani, it felt like hours. Kenshin put his hand on her head and slowly stroked her hair. He had no idea why she was telling all this to him, but he wasn't about to leave her. When Lilani finally looked up, she half expected to see the sun rising in the sky.

After several deep breaths, Lilani was finally ready to finish her story. "A-a-after G-Geraldioux…before he put me to sleep, h-he told me that…that Miles was no morrre. H-he said that Yagudo had gotten to him in the Sauromugue Campaign b-but…I'm positive 'e killed him!"

Kenshin looked into her eyes, "Lilani…I'm so sorry…" was all he could manage at first. He was beginning to choke up himself. "Are you afraid Geraldioux is still after you?"

"No, no…I'm sure he's not…" Lilani wiped her eyes. "You see, for six days I just sat there in my mog house…I had no idea what to do…I didn't even touch my linkshell. But when I finally managed to pick it up, I only listened at firrrst. They were talking about…funeral arrangements! What Geraldioux had said…it was all trrrue! B-but, I'm still sure it was him, not the Yagudo that did Miles in, I'm positive!

"A-and that wasn't all. They werrre also talking about Garaldioux as well—he was found just the day beforrre in Valkurm Dunes, dead too! A goblin ambush they said…but I don't think that's…"

Lilani choked up once more, and Kenshin did not urge her to go on. He understood.

He tried to change the subject, "And, your linkshell? Is this why they disbanded?"

"I guess…" Lilani said to her feet. "I found out just today that they had left without a worrrd…"

Kenshin hugged Lilani, "I'm just so sorry…is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all—just ask."

Lilani looked up, confused. "You mean…y-you believe me?"

"Yes…why wouldn't I? I met Miles once on an airship, he was a very nice man."

"Yeah he was…thank you…"

They stood for a moment in silence. Lilani thought about what Kenshin had asked her. She had lost her appetite, and all she really wanted was to go home and be alone to cry herself out without shame. But she knew she would feel bad if she simply left the man who voluntarily gave her a crying shoulder.

She got an idea, "Kenshin…you said you have a linkshell?"

"Yes, Abandon, are you interested? I promise, if anyone asks for your story, I'll confront them at once. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

"Yes…I would love to join yer linkshell."

"Alright. But first, you're going to have to let go a second," Kenshin whispered, laughing softly. Lilani laughed in spite of herself and unglued herself from his torso. Kenshin smiled as he pulled out an orange, palm-sized seashell from one of his side pouches. He stuck a finger in the end, and after a little wrestling, he managed to work out one marble-sized, bright orange pearl. He handed it to Lilani, "And there you are. I'm sure most everyone is asleep by now, so you can introduce yourself in the morning if you like."

"Thank you…so much," Lilani said, still internally trying to hold everything together. "This means so much to me…p-please don't tell anyone!" she quickly gasped.

Kenshin laughed softly again, "You have nothing to worry about. I'll never tell a soul."

Lilani looked into his eyes once more before leaving. "Thanks. Good night Mi—er, Kenshin."

In that moment, Lilani figured it out. She was comfortable with that man _because_ of his resemblance to Miles. Lilani couldn't help but feel cool and humbled as she walked in the moonlight, back to her mog house. As she crossed a bridge, alone as a single night star, she whispered to the wind, "Thank you, Miles."

* * *

And before anyone worries, no, this story is not based on real events. 


	3. Strange New Member in the Unusual Family

Heeere's chapter three! I actually have through four done, however I've been outrageously busy lately (surprise, surprise) so I have neglected updating. If you want to see four, go to ffxi-online. com, go to fan works forum, and look for the thread called "New Fanfiction, need some opinions..." by Lilani (me!). It should be on page two of the thread, and I can't remember if you need an account to view threads, so if you can't get to it, I apologize.

And, here is the guide as to what characters introduced in this chapter are based off of characters on Fairy:

Franky Franky

Yunu Yunu

Nahtivel Nahtivel (his name worked out quite well, he's an Elvaan)

Darsille/DS Darksided

Poof Poof

Darla Darla/Gentleangel/Arianna (I think that's how you spell Arianna anyway, hard to believe she's had three names)

Rydenel Ryden

Chapter Three: A Strange New Member in the Unusual Family

Contrary to what she had expected, Lilani slept very well that night. She felt relieved. The weight which had been on her shoulders so long was now lighter, and it made her feel almost weightless as she flopped into bed. She had a peaceful, restful, dreamless sleep. The only time Lilani felt regret was when she had to wake up again.

When Lilani did finally decide to get out of bed, she first rolled over and looked at her nightstand. She could now see it clearly, for it was midmorning. After a few moments of absently staring at the unlit candle on the stand, Lilani groaned and lifted herself out of bed.

Lilani noticed her right hip was particularly sore. She reached into that pocket and pulled out the orange linkpearl Kenshin had given her.

"So…it wasn't a dream then," she muttered to herself. Lilani was sitting there, staring into that metallic linkpearl the same way she had been looking at her pearl from Vana'diel Brotherhood when they disbanded. She squeezed the linkshell, half expecting it to break. But it didn't; it became warm and glowed a very pretty tangerine orange. The words of the linkshell message, which were magically recorded by any linkshell or pearlsack holder and played to all who equipped their linkpearls, were as follows:

"Franky needs some sort of key, Yunu needs help with a mission, Nahtivel needs a life, let's get it done people…"

Lilani didn't know any of those people, but she couldn't help but snigger. She always loved hearing inside jokes, even if she didn't know anyone in them.

A Tarutaru's voice emitted from the pearl, "Good morning, you're up early!"

The voice made Lilani jump; she didn't realize she was in range of being heard. She decided to ignore it and hoped it would go away. She wasn't quite ready to be introduced yet.

The Tarutaru spoke again, "Hmm, I swear I heard something. Maybe it _is _too early…"

"Eh, actually…I'm…new herrre…" Lilani muttered, feeling ashamed that she made the poor boy seem foolish.

"Ah a noobie! And what mightaru your name be?"

"Lilani, and yerrrs?

"You can call me Striffy," the Tarutaru proudly replied. "So who brought you to this wonderfully strange linkshell, Lilani?"

"Kenshin, I met him last night at a taverrrn."

"Ooooh, _Kenshin! _Well if he invited you, he must see something great in you indeed!"

Lilani blushed, "Aw, thank you, Striffy. So…uh…what are a few of the names of the others in this shell?"

"Well, the first ones you'll meetaru are DS, Nahtivel, and Yunu. Those three were going to be getting up early to do something in the Temple of Ugly—that's whataru we call the Temple of Uggalepih."

"Sounds like you all are a tightly-knit group," Lilani mused aloud, beginning to think a new linkshell wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"So, Lilani, if you don'taru mind my asking, where are you from? Your voice sounds a bit different from other Mithra I've listened too."

"Oh…I was rrraised in Kazham. Some of us Mithra talk a bit different there," Lilani recited. It was a lie which she had been using since she had first begun adventuring.

"Ah, that makes sense," Striffy replied. "Well, I hope you find Abandon to be a wonderful group. Everyone may seem to be a bit off kilter-wilter at first, but you'll get used to it."

"Oh! And two things before they all come on: Rydenel and Nahtivel are cousins, but they argue like brothers, so try not to get caught up in their squabbles. Also, DS is one of the three leaders of the shell, along with Ryden and Kenshin. We believe his real name is Darsille, or something like thataru, but he hates it with a passion, so we all just call him DS."

"Striffy…" A new voice muttered.

"Oh! Crap!"

There was a sharp silence, and Lilani wondered if her linkpearl had stopped working. But soon, the third voice came back.

"Striffy, did you just say what I think you said."

"I—er, yeah DS, but she's a new member!"

"New member? I don't remember anyone telling me we had a new member…" Lilani was having trouble deciding if DS was angry, surprised, or just drowsy.

"Kenshin recruited her last nightaru in Windurst. This morning's her first time on."

"Does this new recruit come with a name?"

"Yes, Lilani."

"And Lilani speak for herself?"

Striffy began mumbling some things, though they seemed to be too low for the linkshell to pick up. Lilani took it as a cue. "Yes, I can, DS. It's nice to meet you, Strrriffy has made me feel quite welcome."

"Then I guess it's my job to make you feel unwelcome." DS replied with a sigh. "Here in Abandon, we have two rules: treat everyone with the respect they deserve, and if you want help you have to offer an equal amount in return.

The third is sort of unwritten: when your level gets high enough, you become the pawn of myself, Kenshin, and Rydenel. You are to go where we ask when we ask it, without question or bellyaching. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good," DS said. "Welcome to Abandon—I hope abandoning your soul to us was an enjoyable process for you."

"I think you've scared the poor girl enough, DS." This voice was yet again new. Lilani could tell it was a female Hume.

"Darla…when did you get on?"

"Just in time, apparently," Darla replied with a soft giggle. "Lilani, what DS said was true, but I think it will be a while before you are required to participate in the guys' misguided escapades…"

"I object," DS interrupted. "They are not misguided."

"Oh? And what was your last "adventure?" A purposefully undermanned garrison just to see if it could be done without having to call on too many favors? And before that, massacring Mandragora to harvest dozens of cornettes for some doctor in Windurst?"

"Alright, alright, you've made your point. Either way, I think it'll be a while before this kid is ready to join the big leagues."

Lilani was slightly offended, but still couldn't tell if he was being completely serious. Darla simply giggled.

"Well, Lilani, as a new member we are obliged to leave you alone for a while, to make sure you can stand every one of us," said Darla. "Hope you find Abandon as enjoyable as I do!"

"I hope I do too, Darla," Lilani laughed, beginning to stretch out on her bed. "I'll be gone for a while now, I need to get ready for the day."

After Lilani dressed and stretched, she turned the linkshell back on, however put it in a pouch attached to her tunic. There was a mechanism in the linkpearl that allowed her to hear what was going on, however nobody else around her. All linkshells and linkpearls work like this, so that others around the user aren't distracted or offended by what the members might be saying.

Lilani used the morning to prepare herself for another mission. She had heard that the last mission before you rank up tends to be harder, like a test to see if you truly have what it takes. She ate a hearty breakfast at the tavern, and kept her eyes and ears open for Kenshin. She saw no sign of him, and went to her mog house to read and digest—exercising on a full stomach is never a good idea.

She read a novel about Windurst during the Great War, from the perspective of a poet whose family was wiped out by the end of it. As she read, she also picked up on exchanges and even arguments between the members of Abandon. Quite a few times she had to introduce herself to new members turning their pearls on, and each time she was greeted warmly with a hint of jesting remarks.

At noon, Lilani ate a light lunch and started heading off to the gatehouse in Windurst Waters. On the way, she saw none other than Ajido-Marujido and Apururu—again. They were huddled next to an outside wall of the Optistery talking in hushed voices, and neither of them looked happy. Ajido opened his mouth to try and cut off what his sister was whispering, but then he saw Lilani in the corner of his eye. At first he was stunned to see her there, at that very time, and Lilani was rather surprised as well. Apururu looked over as well and soon recognized her as well. She glanced between Ajido and Lilani for a moment, and then asked her brother something.

Ajido shook his head and continued rebuking his sister, but his eyes kept drifting to Lilani every few seconds. Lilani realized neither of them was willing to admit they were familiar with each other, and walked off as if she had seen nothing.

"_Hm, it's like I can't get away from them…_" she thought to herself as she continued on to the gatehouse.

Mokyokyo was the Tarutaru who was in charge at Leviathan's Gate. Lilani chose a different gatehouse so she could become familiar with all of them, and so perhaps they would all put in a good word for her when the missions became more dangerous. However, when Lilani arrived, there were already a few adventurers lined up in front of the Tarutaru.

Lilani reluctantly placed herself at the back of the line, and listened in and learn if there were still some missions available. As she listened, she realized all of the adventurers knew each other, and were arguing with Mokyokyo. The head of the group was a blonde female Tarutaru. She was wearing the garb of a melee, had a small brown pot strung around her shoulder, and had two exotic looking axes equipped on her sides not suitable for a warrior. Lilani guessed that might be a beastmaster.

"Aren't you listening, you gatehouse goonie!? I am _Poof! _The leader of the elite and expansive linkshell that bears my name! I ask you again, do you have _any_ missions that involve even a _bit_ of danger, and don't stench with boredom"

Lilani did not have to listen hard to hear what Poof was saying. In fact, everyone in the area could hear Poof with ease. The other members of her shell cheered her on, and insisted she continue. Mokyokyo sighed and slapped her forehead. "I've told you a dozen-wozen times now, _we only have rank one and two missions right now! _Here in Windurst, we do not allow rank ones and twos to take very dangerous missions, and so we reserve the more dangerous missions for the higher ranks. The most dangerous tasky-wask we have right now is taking an offering of cherries to Giddeus. If that's not enough danger for you, then you're just outaru of luck!"

Poof's face formed an aghast look of disgusted awe on. She was so surprised by the telling off, that at first all she could do was stand there and sputter a few fragments.

"Well you just…I oughta…you little…! Arg!" Poof slammed her foot on the ground in rage. In her fury, a bit of stress-induced mana enhanced her stomp, and it made a deafening crash that reverberated on the rock walls for several seconds. Obviously, Poof was at least at some time a powerful mage.

The stomp let out some of Poof's aggravation, and she finally found the words she had been looking for. "I have connections, you cheat! I'll make sure every adventurer, traveler, merchant, and _crawler_ on Vana'diel knows that this gatehouse in Windurst is no place to find work worthy of seeking out! This is a travesty—a-an insult upon this fair and beautiful country! I'll be taking this to the top—the _Star Sibyl _will hear about this!

"Poofians, we're leaving!" Poof concluded, marching off toward the gate and signaling to her colleagues behind her to follow. Throughout the tirade, they sniggered and sneered at the helpless guards, who didn't seem to be negatively affected by the abuse.

When the linkshell was out of earshot, Mokyokyo sighed and put her hand on her forehead. "Oh, that Poof…one day…"

After a few moments of silent musing, one of the two guards coughed rather loudly, and Mokyokyo looked up. "Oh, sorry-worry! I didn't see you there. How can I help you today?"

Lilani smiled, "I was actually looking for a mission, my name is Lilani."

Mokyokyo pulled out a clipboard of her own, "Hm, let's see…Lilani…Ah, here you are! It says here that just yesterday you completed two mission-wissions, and you're one mission away from rank two." Lilani nodded. "Well, I think I've got justaru the thing for you. That mission I just tried to explain to Poof there, I think it's just the one for you. It was sent in by the Rhinostery. I could probably explain everything to you herey-were, but that would leave nothing for Leppe-Hoppe to say!

You'll find the boy on the roof of the Rhinostery, directaruly south from here," Mokyokyo concluded, pointing in the respective direction.

Lilani went to the Rhinostery as commanded, and listened to Leppe-Hoppe explain the situation in rhyme. Basically, Windurst and the Yagudo have a peace treaty to prevent war, and Windurst gives the Yagudo at Giddeus offerings on a regular basis to keep them on friendly terms. The offerings consist of cherries which the Yagudo particularly enjoy, and a rare and valuable drink, a wine, Lilani assumed. It was up to Lilani to deliver the cherries and wine to Giddeus, as it was too dangerous for a normal person to walk directly into enemy territory.

Lilani was a bit disappointed. She was hoping that the last mission of rank one would involve a bit more danger than yet another delivery run. However she took the items with dignity, and set off on foot.

When Lilani finally reached the entrance to Giddeus, she took a deep breath and opened her ears wide. According to what Leppe-Hoppe said, Giddeus was a valuable and well protected stronghold, and the Yagudo may not positively react to her arrival. Lilani prepared herself for an ambush.

However, there was none. In fact, on the way in, the only creatures she passed were a few bees. Even they didn't seem to care about her presence.

Lilani was particularly surprised by a female Elvaan she passed on one of the corridors. The Elvaan seemed perfectly calm, and tipped her hat as they passed each other. Lilani smiled, thoroughly perplexed. "_A well guarded stronghold…yet they let adventurers roam frrree? How strange…_"

After a winding through a maze of pathways, Lilani finally hit an opening. It was a large room with a waterway on one side, and a few random bees buzzing around the tops of some shrubs. There was the mouth of a cave opposite to where Lilani was, and a Yagudo was leaning against the wall rather lazily. Lilani approached, holding the offerings in plain sight in front of her.

"I come rrrepresenting the Federation of Windurst, bearing offerings of peace to the Yagudo," she recited, bowing on one knee just as Leppe-Hoppe instructed.

The Yagudo rolled his eyes. "Thanks," he grumbled. He reached out and grabbed the bag of cherries, popping one into his mouth.

Lilani stayed on one knee and waited for him to take the flask of wine as well, but he did not. He looked back at her, seeming to wonder why she was still there.

"Aren't you going to take the flask as well?" Lilani asked, with as much courtesy as she could muster.

"Nope, I'm only supposed to take the cherries, kah!" he responded, greedily dropping several more down his gullet.

"Then…wherrre am I supposed to take the flask?" she asked, standing back up.

"Kah, fool!" he spat before he gave his answer, "There is another Yagudo in an area like this one farther west. He'll take your flask, and then you can go home."

Lilani was certainly not happy, but she managed to mumble a thanks before walking off.

After several more minutes of twisting and turning, Lilani finally found the other Yagudo. He took the flask with about the same amount of courtesy as the previous Yagudo she spoke with. Lilani was joyful to be leaving the place, and began the long walk back to the Rhinostery so that she could report to Leppe-Hoppe and get her reward.

When Lilani climbed up the stairs to the roof of the Rhinostery, she heard a familiar voice speaking, and then Leppe-Hoppe responding. Very quietly, she made her way up the rest of the stairs and silently listened in on the conversation.

"…You said that the last time I was here!" Ajido-Marujido told Leppe-Hoppe in a slightly hushed voice. "I don'taru see why you can't, you have no objections to what I'm asking, and you are acting in the stead of your Minister, correct?"

"Minister Rukususu specifically told me to lend nobody her ring," Leppe-Hoppe adamantly stated. "And you have yet to address the complications unlocking the Priming Gate would bring! I am to act in the way Rukususu would, and I'm sure she would not approve of this," his voice hushed to a whisper. "You are right in that we would like to research the Great Beast's lair, but as far as we know, Fenrir no longer even exists!"

"Well then this is your chance to find outaru for sure!" Ajido insisted. "We could accomplish two things at once, you could research the Great Beast, and I could explore the laboratory of Karaha-Baru…"

Ajido-Marujido's voice faded, noticing Leppe-Hoppe was looking past him. He turned around to spot Lilani, who waved rather awkwardly. Ajido turned back to Leppe-Hoppe. "Well, I'll give you time to think on it. Ta-taru!"

Before even letting Leppe-Hoppe respond, Ajido ran off to Port Windurst. As he passed Lilani, he looked at her with great scrutiny, making her a bit comfortable. Lilani watched him running for a moment, but then Leppe-Hoppe got her attention.

"Ahem!" Lilani turned. "I see you're back from Giddeus in once piece! I take it you completed your crusade for peace?" he asked.

Lilani opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off. "Eh, don'taru mind Minister Ajido-Marujido there, he's been trying to stir trouble, rumor has it… Goddess knows what trouble he'll get into for the crimes he wants to commit…" He shrugged off the thought. "Anyway, that's all I needed you to do! Your reward is at the gatehouse, and I speak for the whole Rhinostery when I say 'Thank you!'"

Lilani smiled, "No prrroblem."

At the gatehouse, Lilani received a meager 1000 gil, however she was also granted rank two. She giggled at the thought of the rather low rank being worth more than the money she received.

On top of that, the events of that afternoon had let her right into the evening, and it was time for Lilani to head home. Lilani decided to take the long way around Port to get a glimpse of the sunset on the beautiful bay.

As she passed the Orastery, there were no citizens to be seen, however Lilani yet again came across none other than Ajido-Marujido, who was locking the doors to the mage academy. She swallowed, "_Hm, forgot about him…dangit._" She thought, trying to hurry by and pretend like she didn't notice.

However, Ajido-Marujido was far from not noticing. He slammed the door closed, jammed the key in, and then quickly ran after Lilani. "Oi, you!"

Lilani sighed, turning on heel. "Yes?"

"Are you following me or something? Ever since that mission-wission yesterday I've seen you everywhere! What is your problem?"

"No, I'm not. I couldn't tell you why runnin' into each otherrr," she quietly said, only hoping not to attract unwanted attention.

"Then why were you at the Rhinostery today, huh? Do you really expect me to believe that you were justaru there to smell the glowing roses?"

"Actually I was on a mission for the Rhinostery, and why does this bother you so much?" Lilani asked, knowing in her gut that she was rather curious about why they kept meeting up as well.

"Humph, fine. But if I catch you sneaking around, don'taru think for a second I won't notice," he said, walking off in a huff.

Lilani sighed, looking at the sunset. The encounter had spoiled the mood, and she walked to her mog house with her eyes fixed on the ground.

When Lilani arrived, she wasn't hungry, and just flopped onto her bed. After a moment, she remembered and turned her linkshell back on—she had turned it off in Giddeus, as she thought that the sight of her talking on a linkshell might arouse suspicion.

She had turned it on in the middle of a conversation.

"…Yeah she hasn't really been on much today. She turned it off a little while ago, said she had some mission to do," the voice of someone she hadn't yet met commented.

Lilani smirked, "She was hiding from the arrrgumentative terds she's heard so much about all day."

"Ah, Lilani, there you are!" Kenshin's voice greeted. Lilani could hear him smiling. "So, what do you think of our odd little family so far? We haven't given you that much trouble, have we?"

"Hey Kenshin. No, not much trouble at all, rrreally. I think I might just stick around for a while."

"Wonderful!" the first voice replied. "Will you be coming to Jeuno for our little gathering, then?"

"Jeuno? What gathering?"

Kenshin giggled softly. "Nahtivel is getting a little ahead of himself. In a week and a half, myself and some others are going to gather in Jeuno to chat and catch up. I mean, just because we're in the same linkshell doesn't mean we often get the chance to sit down and really talk. What do you think? It would be a great chance to meet some more of us and get used to the way we are."

"Aye, sounds great Kenshin, I think I just might," Lilani quickly replied, thinking more about seeing Kenshin again than the fact that she hadn't the slightest idea on how to get to Jeuno from Windurst.

"Perfect! I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Lilani suddenly remembered one of her reasons for coming on, "Kenshin? Where did you go today? I was around Windurst, but I couldn't find you anywhere…did you leave?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry about that! Rydenel and Darla asked me to help them out in the Valkurm Dunes, so I had to get a teleport early this morning."

"Ah, I see, it's no prrroblem. It's just I thought you were my friend, so…"

"I am your friend, Lilani! It's just…I…"

Lilani started laughing. "I get it, I get it! I was just messin' with ya, silly."

"Hah! You certainly have a cruel sense of humor."

"Crrruel? Maybe you just can't take a joke!"

The jabbing and witty retorts went on for a while, other members joining and choosing sides as they will, until Lilani was too tired to make up comebacks.

"I'd better go to bed now, guys, all these terrible puns and jokes 'ave hurt me too much to go on…"

The others laughed, and after a few more witty retorts, they all wished her sweet dreams.


	4. The Dunes

Here's chapter four, and because I finally have it done and I don't trust myself to responsibly add dramatic delay, I'll be putting chapter five up as soon as this one goes out. That way I'll be caught up both here and on ffxi-online.

There's not really anyone new introduced in here, though I did have some fun adding in some awkward elements of adventuring, such as asking for teleports, hehe... Anyway, enjoy. And thank you for the reviews so far, I appreciate the feedback very much It's my way of telling how well liked my fanfiction is, and how many people are really reading all the way through the chapters, and aren't just clicking on the page, glancing at a paragraph, and then going somewhere else. It is my link into your mind o.o;

Chapter Four: The Dunes

The next morning—quite earlier than she would have liked—Lilani awoke to the persistent calls of Kenshin.

"Lilani…! Lilani...! Lani! Lililianiah?"

Lilani laughed out loud as she swiped the linkpearl off of her nightstand, "Kenshin, is my name really that 'ard to prrronounce?"

"Yes! Goddess above…would you mind thinking up a nickname for yourself?"

"Hehe, how about just Ani. 'Ah-nee.'"

"Sounds good to me, Ani," Kenshin replied, and he stopped.

After a moment of silence, Lilani jutted her jaw, "Eh…so what was it you wanted in the firrrst place?"

"Oh yeah…I was just wondering if you wanted to head out to Valkurm Dunes with me. You did sound a bit lonely last night, and Darla and Ryden have already given it the okay. Whaddya say?"

"Hummmm…" Lilani groaned as she rolled out of her bed and planted her feet on the floor. She sighed, "I guess I can. How long do ya plan on staying there?"

"Um…until our meeting in Jeuno, I guess. It'd seem pointless to go anywhere else, since we're already close."

Lilani groaned again, this time as she stretched, and purposefully louder than before. "Ugh…I _suppose _I could run out therrre for you…"

"Great! Wait…do you have Tele Dem?"

A sigh, "Yes, yes…"

"Wonderful! Can we count on seeing you about noon then? We can meet at Selbina for lunch."

"Hmm…fine if you say so."

Kenshin laughed, "You're not one for mornings, huh?"

"No, I'm not. I'll 'ave you know that I _never _got up to do things for my old linkshell. This is a mighty big favorrr I'm doing for you."

"Ah, come on, it's not that hard!"

"Oh? Have _you _ever tried to get a teleport in Windurst? I'll tell you, it's about as easy as getting a dhalmel to jump in tha airrr."

"Whatever. As leader of this linkshell, I order you to get your lazy butt out of bed and on the next teleport to Konschtat Highlands!"

Lilani sighed, and drug herself off her mattress to do so.

She knew she would be gone for a while, so Lilani checked in with the gate guards to give permission to her Moogle to return to her mog house and watch over it in her stead. She also informed the Moogle in advance that she would be moving her things to Jeuno in about a week and a half, and gave him permission to move anytime before then if he felt so inclined.

Lilani decided that Windurst Woods would be the best place for seeking a teleport, for it had the auction house, and the highest percentage of adventurers. There were, in fact, a good two dozen adventurers lining the area. Hardly anyone acknowledged her presence, if they weren't absorbed in auction house business, they were peddling their own wares to other bystanders. Lilani put two thousand gil in her hand, held it up high, and shouted in everyone's direction, "Alrrright, I'll give two thousand gil to the first mage able to teleport me to Dem!"

All motion stopped. Everyone took a moment to look over at the fire-headed shouting Mithra. Most just looked back the other way, some giggled to themselves and whispered to their neighbors, and quite a few men continued staring for their own reasons. Lilani, with not a speck of shame, only shouted louder.

"Three thousand? Four? Anybody…hello?!"

"I'll do it for two if it'll get you to shut up."

Lilani turned around with a look of scorn on her face and searched for her antagonist. At first she saw nobody, but the Tarutaru cleared her throat, and Lilani looked down. It was none other than Poof, casually dressed in the garb of a mage, and impatiently tapping her foot. Lilani immediately recognized her, and didn't know whether to react positively or negatively. "Um…no kidding?" she asked, much more quietly than before.

"No, you poorly dressed stooge," Poof spat, glancing over Lilani's clothing with scrutinizing eyes. "Just gimmie the gil and I'll help you leave us in peace."

Lilani couldn't help but laugh at how extremely Poof was reacting to the situation, and handed the gil over with a true smile. "Here you go, thanks."

Poof noticed the smile, and felt a bit bad about what she said. "Thanks," she muttered as she quickly pocketed the gil. She took the liberty of stepping a bit closer to Lilani, to ensure that she would not be left behind, and began chanting the rather long spell. She kept looking up at her, and noticed she was still wholesomely smiling. She sighed the last part of the spell, lifted her arm, and they were off.

When the two opened their eyes, they were staring at opposite sides of an enormous, blue, spinning crystal. Lilani leaned around the crystal and waved to Poof, "Thanks again! Sorry for annoying you back therrre."

Lilani walked down the stairs of the platform, not expecting an attention worthy response from Poof. However, Poof called back, in a tone Lilani hadn't yet heard her use, "Yeah, well, forget about it. You're not half bad, redhead. See ya 'round."

The words surprised Lilani, and she spun around to look back at Poof. By the time she turned around, Poof was already gone, most likely warped back to Windurst. Lilani shook her head, and went on to rent a chocobo.

It was quite a long ride to Selbina from the Crag of Dem, and Kenshin wasn't making it any shorter. He was concerned for Lilani's knowledge of the area, and constantly asked for her position.

"…Where are you now, Ani? Have you hit sand yet?"

"No, Kenshin, I haven't. Although I do see a snowdrift ahead…"

"What?!"

"Just kidding! Goddess! I think I'll know a deserrrt when I see one. I'll tell ya when I hit sand."

"…So, you're close then?"

"UGH."

When Lilani finally got to Selbina, Kenshin greeted her with a big hug as she sent her chocobo away.

"Ah, finally! We've been waiting _ages _for you!"

Lilani cringed under the sudden display of affection, however she trusted Kenshin, and hugged back. "It hasn't been _that_ long, silly. And besides, you were houndin' me all the way up herrre, I couldn't get a second _without _ya!"

Darla and Rydenel approached the two from the gates into Selbina. Apparently, they had chosen to wait inside.

"Lilani, wonderful to see you!" Darla kindly greeted, clasping Lilani's hand with both of hers and shaking like a friend.

Rydenel was a bit more formal, "Hello, Lilani, it's nice to meet you."

Lilani was a little more than startled at the sight of Rydenel. He was an Elvaan. By no means was he similar to Geraldioux in looks—with his short blonde hair as opposed to Geraldioux's long dark hair—however Lilani was still not ready to interact with any sort of Elvaan with any degree of calmness.

All she could do was stare for several moments, her eyes glazed over with horror. Ryden became uncomfortable, and Darla concerned.

Kenshin knew exactly what was happening, and was afraid of such a problem. He gently took Lilani's hand and guided her to the gate of Selbina, bypassing Rydenel completely. He whispered in her ear inconspicuously, "Don't worry about Ryden, I've told him you're shy to men and don't like flirting, so he's on his best behavior." He continued walking with her until they were well inside the town, and then stopped. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Lilani took a deep breath and focused more on Kenshin's words than her memories. "Yes, yes I'll be fine. Let's…just go eat. I'm 'ungrrry."

Kenshin pointed to a small nearby restaurant and let Lilani take herself to it. He then went back to explain things to Darla and Ryden.

"Don't worry about Ani, she's just hungry and got a bit woozy there."

Ryden looked at Kenshin suspiciously, "Really? She looked more afraid than woozy to me…"

Kenshin gave Ryden a hard stare, warning him to back off, "She really didn't mean to, it embarrasses her and makes her feel weak. She prefers that nobody addresses it."

Ryden stepped closer to Kenshin and stared straight down at him, "Whoever said I was going to address it? And, more specifically, whoever said I had to _believe _it?"

Darla didn't know or care what was really wrong with Lilani, "Ryden, maybe we should just go to the restaurant and reintroduce ourselves to Lilani there."

"You mean _I _need to reintroduce _myself._ I still think it had something to do with me, but we'll see," Ryden growled, holding his glare at Kenshin until he turned around and walked into Selbina. He never did like to be ordered around, especially when it came to his personality and behavior. Kenshin's sudden overprotection of Lilani made him suspicious, and almost jealous, in a way.

The four all sat down at a round table in the restaurant, Ryden was across from Lilani, with Kenshin on her left and Darla on her right. They got their drinks, and for the first few minutes, awkwardly looked at each other and sipped lightly from their cups. Finally, Kenshin cleared his throat and opened the conversation with Darla and Ryden.

"So, guys, how should we work Ani into our party? She's a…red mage?" He looked at Lilani for confirmation, and she nodded. "How about we have her support heal and nuke. She's not well equipped for melee right now, after all."

Ryden opened his mouth to speak, but Lilani cut in, with a little more than a whisper, "Actually…I can melee quite well with this gear. I brrrought a sword with me, and if it's my armor yer worried about, just ignore it. I've never liked heavy armorrr, it's too heavy and feels uncomfortable…"

Her voice faded off as she took another drink from her juice.

Kenshin nodded, "Alright then. Ani, are you okay with being a melee, along with support healing and enfeebs?" Lilani nodded. He turned to Darla and Ryden, "Are you two okay?" Both of them nodded, and Ryden took the opportunity to speak.

"I just wanted to tell Ani that Kenshin and I share main tank, switching off as we need. I'm a warrior, he's a ninja."

Lilani kept her cool, and was actually able to relax more, "Sounds like a good setup to me. Two tanks are always better than one."

"And I am the white mage," Darla chimed in with a smile. "I keep these two knuckleheads alive, and break up their petty arguments, from time to time…"

Ryden smirked, "Hey, our arguments are _not _petty. Remember when we couldn't decide who should pull? Pulling is very important, whoever pulls affects the whole party and how things function!"

"Yes, but did you really have to spend thirty minutes sniping at each other, and another thirty pouting?"

"Pouting?! It was noon, and—!"

A chorus of "hush"es and "shh!"ing erupted from the other tables. Ryden hushed his voice before continuing, "It was noon, and have you ever been in the dunes at noontime? We'd have boiled like crabs before we could even find one to pull!"

Darla sat back in her chair looking at both of them, "Excuses, excuses. Either way, you have to admit, you two argue an hour for every two hours of successful partying."

Kenshin smiled and held his glass up in a mock toast, "It's just the way we do things."

When their food came, much more went into their mouths than out. Just about all conversation ceased, except for the occasional beckoning for sauce or salt.

They all finally finished, and with full bellies, exited the gates of Selbina. It was just past noon, however that day was to be the coolest of the week, so they did not have to hide in the shade to wait for a cooler time to come. They decided to return to their place at Whitebone Beach and see how one more affected their successfulness. They decided to start off with Damselflies, however not before a short argument on who should pull.

"I think you should go back to pulling, Kenshin, you have shadows," Ryden began.

"Well I think we should give Ani a chance to pull with Dia. That way both of us are here to take hate off of her if need be, and we're both rested up and ready to tank."

"A red mage, pull?! You're joking! She'd pass out after two hits, and could never dodge anything!"

"Ryden, grow up. You _know_ that red mages are sometimes asked to pull at higher levels. I want Ani to get some safe practice in on this so she's able to do it properly when we're not around."

"Oh, yes. I'm sure she'll appreciate being educated as a guinea pig!"

"How about I try pulling the firrrst one, see how I like it, and then _I _decide who pulls?" Kenshin and Ryden looked at Lilani, contemplating her idea.

Ryden was suddenly indifferent, "Well, if you're willing to try…" Kenshin simply shook his head at Ryden, and gestured at Darla, giving her the go-ahead on casting buffs.

When they had protect and shell up, Lilani did a bit of stretching, and looked around for a fly. She spotted one about fifty yards away. She quickly took off and sprinted in its direction. When she was in range, she kept her eyes on it and quickly cast the spell Dia. Before the spell was even complete, the damselfly sensed the spell on it and turned her way.

Lilani had never really pulled before. When it came after her, she stood there and dodged it. It came back and went to tackle her, but she pulled to the side again.

After a few seconds of this strange dance, Lilani heard the cries of her comrades. She perked up her ears to hear what they were saying.

"Ani, come _here! _Run back to camp!"

"What are you doing?! Get back here at once!"

Lilani slapped her forehead for being so dense. She went into a full sprint to get back to camp, and beat the fly by several seconds. Kenshin and Ryden stepped ahead of her and unsheathed their weapons, ready to use provoke as soon as the fly was in range.

"What do you think you were doing back there?!" Ryden yelled, his eyes still locked on the Damselfly. "From what you said, I thought you had a grasp on what pulling was about!"

"Frrrom what _you _said, it sounded like mages are _supposed _to pull differently from rangers an' such!"

"You've got that much right, you're supposed to use spells as opposed to weapons! But no matter what you use you're supposed to run it back to camp! That's why it's called pulling, you _pull _it _to _us!"

Just then the fly came into range, and both Kenshin and Ryden used provoke at the same time. They glared at each other for a moment before attacking. The fly chose to go after Ryden.

"I thought I was voking first!" Kenshin spat, casting a wind based Ninja spell on the fly to lower its resistance to ice. Lilani took that as a cue to cast blizzard, but because she didn't have it, she chose to cast other black magic spells. She decided it might be best to lie low and not melee, in hopes that it would cause them to forget about her pulling mistake.

"You never said anything changed from what we were doing before!" Ryden shouted back, letting out a grunt as the fly bounced off of his hard scale armor. "So I thought I still had first voke!"

"Yes, but whenever we have a normal puller _I _always get first voke!"

"Our puller is anything _but _normal! Aaack!"

Kenshin was about to make a rebuttal when the fly made a direct hit to Ryden's face. He cried out in agony, and Kenshin impulsively provoked.

The fly furiously slapped at Kenshin, but for the first three hits, shadows Kenshin's exact shape and size flew out of the ground and took the hit for the real Kenshin. Darla and Lilani both cast cure spells to the second tier on Ryden. When Ryden was healed, the fly turned to the mages.

Lilani decided that it was her turn to take swings at the fly, and pulled her rapier-style sword out of her belt. She leapt in front of the fly before it could reach Darla, and slashed at it with accurate, lightning-quick motions. Before any of the three could blink, the fly was in three pieces on the ground, still twitching with frustration.

The two boys could only stare at Lilani, both with a bit of anger and confusion. Darla's heart was about to pound out of her chest, and she sat down to rest her shaking legs.

Lilani was still breathing heavily as well. She noticed the boys look frustrated. "What?" she could only ask, not wanting to directly address any of her mistakes.

Kenshin decided to respond first, in a calm manner, "Ani, eh, we usually keep them alive for a while on purpose to get as much practice in as possible. Things looked bad there, but that's what this partying is all about. Sticking it out when things are tough so we're ready for even tougher situations later."

Lilani internally kicked herself, "I see, I'm sorry, I was just tryin't help…"

"No trouble at all," Ryden interjected. "You know, except for the parts where you pulled without actually_ pulling _and over-cured me."

"Well, mister smarty pants, perrrhaps I haven't done this in a while and was only lookin' to make sure _you _didn't get cut in 'alf by an overgrown 'ouse fly!"

"Well, miss _accent_, maybe I don't believe you should be meleeing at all! You're a pretty lady, I wouldn't want to see a fragile creature like you get hurt…"

Lilani was flabbergasted at what she was hearing. On Vana'diel, in the cultures of the three nations, women are inarguably equal to men. Feminists and chauvinists alike are a rare breeds indeed, and Ryden just so happened to be the latter.

Lilani clenched her fists and gave Ryden a death stare, "Listen up, you slop licking _pig! _I'll challenge you to a duel rrright now if you think you're so tough! If you even think of insulting me in such a way again I _swear_ I'll make ya more acquainted with your insides than you'd _everrr _wish ta be!"

At this point, Lilani had her sword up to Ryden's neck, and he was standing on his tiptoes to prevent it from going through his Adam's apple.

Kenshin slowly approached Lilani from behind and gently put his hand on Lilani's right hand, which was the one holding the sword. He began whispering in her ear, and his words slowly calmed her down. Eventually, she took a deep breath and sheathed her sword. She turned toward a tree she could rest under for a few minutes, as she was suggested to do by Kenshin. Before she walked away, she whispered something to him.

"Geraldioux said things like that."

Darla followed Lilani over to the shade, and Kenshin approached Ryden. "Thanks, you may have just scared off a great addition to our linkshell."

"'Great addition?' She didn't even know how to pull! And besides she's a woman, she needs to just put down the sword and pick up a wand or something…"

Kenshin's response was a swift right hook to Ryden's jaw. Ryden staggered and rubbed it, appalled his friend would touch him in such a manner.

"Shut your mouth," Kenshin said. "We've had this discussion before, everyone in Abandon is equal as long as they pull their weight. I'm positive Lilani will pull more than hers, she just needs time to learn. You were a newbie once too."

"And once I considered you a friend as well," Ryden mumbled, partially to himself. "But now I see you're a different person as soon as a woman gets involved. I've had just about enough of this. I'll play your game 'til the end of the week. After that…well, we'll see." He looked over to Lilani, who was near tears curled up in a ball under the tree.

Ryden approached her. "I deeply regret what I said, Lilani. It was not my place to say it…I am genuinely sorry."

Lilani peered up at him, "Is that you talking, or Kenshin?"

Ryden looked hurt, "Then, you don't accept my apology?"

"I'll accept it when I know it rrreally is genuine. Only time can tell that, so I propose we get started again."

She stood up, with unfaltering composure and all of her wits gathered. Darla took her hand for a moment, worried it was only a façade, but Lilani nodded to her and told her not to worry. Kenshin also asked her if everything was alright, and Lilani told him it was as well. Their discussion on who should pull was much more tranquil and calm this time, and so they all agreed Lilani should be given another chance.

Lilani did turn out to be a very good puller; she was able to dodge the monster's strikes with ease as she could hear them keenly. She was also an excellent runner, and always arrived with plenty of time to spare.

A full week passed without further incident, and the drama of the past faded to almost nothing. Darla and Lilani both noticed that Kenshin and Ryden only spoke when absolutely necessary, however they did not want to upset things, and left it alone.

On the ninth day—three days before they were to set off for Jeuno—they all prepared to battle yet again. However, when they got to Whitebone beach, there were two distressed looking figures fighting in their usual place. It was a Tarutaru and a Galka, surrounded on all sides by six goblins, who were slowly closing in on them, knives and staves first. Without thinking twice, Kenshin, Darla, Ryden, and Lilani all bore down on the group, their weapons out first.


	5. Tavern Tumult

Let the jubilations be heard! I have finally finished chapter five! So much emotional stuff, details...and just figuring out a place to end it. My original plan was to have it cut off much sooner, but then it would have been midget chapter, and it didn't seem like enough for how long I was already spending on it. I did a last second title change as well, the original just didn't seem to fit the chapter as well by the time I was done with the adding on.

And before I forget, thank you for the support again, but specifically Fortunato :-D I haven't been on FFXI much because of work and such...but after the trip I'm beginning tomorrow, I'll be sure to look for you when I'm on. I'm glad somebody finally is getting something from my exposure of Poof, hehe.

Two new people in this chapter:

Danius-Marcus/Danry Danry.

Brickhouse Brickhouse.

As you can see, I'm avoiding changing their names at all costs. I'm sort of afraid that if I change the name, I'll forget who I'm supposed to be mimicking, and then I'll get the personality all wrong. I've done a bit of altering on all of them, but I'm doing my best to make them all proud.

Chapter Five: Tavern Tumult  


Lilani's party caught the goblins completely off guard. The beasts had no idea how to react to the charging adventurers. The leader of their gang had to give a shout to snap them out of their stupor, and they charged right back them.

Kenshin and Ryden ran ahead of Darla and Lilani. The latter two slowed down and kept well behind the melees, Lilani preparing an enfeebling spell and Darla defense enhancement spells.

When Lilani let loose a Diaga spell, all of the goblins turned to her and either charged or began casting. Kenshin and Ryden stopped fast and quickly began swinging at the goblins in order to keep their attention. They managed to distract all but one of the goblins—a thief who managed to use Flee and ran by unnoticed.

Lilani impulsively unsheathed her sword and made a flurry of circular motions in front of the goblin. It quickly halted to not run upon her sword, and jumped up to jab at her with its knife. Lilani jumped backward and impaled the goblin through its shoulder before it could blink. For a moment she stood there, the waling goblin hanging by her rapier-style sword. When her mind and body caught up with each other, she flung it to the ground, stabbed it in the heart, and wheeled around to view the situation at the front.

Things for the rest of Lilani's party were more bad than good. They had quickly killed two more goblins, however two mages were throwing them for a loop by casting blind, bind, and poison. The last goblin was another thief, and it was more or less toying with Kenshin and Ryden, dancing around them and dodging faster than they could swing. Darla could barely keep up with cures, blindna, and poisona, and was running out of mana fast.

Lilani quickly began taking care of things by order of importance. First, she cast cure spells on Ryden and Kenshin. The mages looked up at her, and began casting. She used Chainspell and got silence on the two mages before they could do any damage. The goblins were stunned by this, and backed away some. Then, Lilani cast blind on the goblin thief. It was still trying to attack Ryden, and was in mid swing when the spell hit. It spun around a bit before it finally hit the ground, kicking and rubbing at its goggles with frustration.

Lilani ran up to the front and finished the thief off by a swift cut at its throat with her sword. The mages began running off, however everyone had completely forgotten about the Galka and the Tarutaru. The two had gotten the courage to begin charging. The Galka was obviously a monk, and shattered the skull of the first mage with one mighty blow to its face. The silence on the second goblin wore of just then, and it began casting a spell on the Galka. However the Tarutaru was a white mage, and cast silence on it before it could finish the spell. The goblin froze, for it was out of options. Kenshin was the one to catch up to it first, and he put the goblin out of its misery with two perfectly aimed swipes with his katana.

All six of the adventurers either sat down, or dropped their weapons and stopped moving to breathe. Lilani had hit the ground instantly, and heaved in air as she stared at her quaking body. The only thing anyone could hear was their collective hearts pounding. Lilani, Darla, and the Tarutaru heaved with nausea whenever they looked at the bleeding corpses of the goblins, so they averted their gazes to other nearby features.

Finally, Kenshin straightened up and approached the two strangers. Ryden followed close behind, and Darla and Lilani soon caught up as well.

The Galka smiled widely and extended his hand to Kenshin. He was wearing faded blue martial arts robes, and had very large and formidable looking hand to hand weapons hanging by his sides. "Thank you very much, Friend. You and your party were very brave. You didn't have to do anything, but you did."

Kenshin smiled back, taking the Galka's hand and shaking it firmly. "Think nothing of it, Friend. Members of the Linkshell Abandon always feel obligated to help those in need."

The Tarutaru spoke up then. He was wearing the same mage robes as Lilani, except he was wearing some very fine mitts, an ornate circlet around his forehead, and had a wand that gently emitted some invigorating magic which Lilani and Darla could easily sense. "Abandon, huh? I think I've heard of you guys. Don'taru you go all over Vana'diel doing strange things for people? From what I've heardy-werd, you certainly get around!

Oh, and my name is Danius-Marcus, butaru _please _call me Danry!"

"And I am called Brickhouse," the Galka added. "You're probably wondering how we got in that precarious situation…"

"It's all Brick's fault!" Danry added, looking up at Brickhouse impatiently. "He picked a fight a fight with justaru one of those goblins, and then its friends came out of nowhere and jumpied us! He _should _have looked first."

"Is that right? Then who was that silly Taru screaming in my ear, 'There's a goblin, get it, get it!'"

"_I'm_ just a mage! It's not my job to look around and make sure it's safe!"

Lilani cut in with a giggle, "Sounds just like the arrrguments exchanged in Abandon. And, by the way, just how do a Tarutaru and a Galka team up with no other 'elp in rrrange?"

"Yes, I was wondering that too," Ryden added, looking at the two with scrutinizing eyes.

Brick began the story, "Well, we used to be in a linkshell together, and we were headed to San d'Oria from Windurst—neither of us had Teleport Holla, you see. On the ship to Selbina, our linkpearls just shattered. Either we were kicked out, or they just disbanded without a word."

"Sounds a bit like Lilani's story," Darla pointed out, gesturing to the red haired Mithra in front of her. "And, by the way, my name's Darla, and this here's Lilani, Rydenel, and Kenshin."

They all shook hands, pointed out their nicknames, and Danry was finally able to finish their story. "So anyway, after our pearls shattarued, we figured we were in no hurry-wurry so we decided to have a little fun out here before running up to Jeuno."

"I see," Kenshin replied. "Well, there's six of us here total, so what would you to say to us joining forces and taking back Whitebone Beach? It looks like some Beastman was determined to make it theirs." He pointed to the coastline, which was thickly lined with pugils, crabs, damselflies, and goblins who stayed behind to watch the spectacle from earlier.

"Sounds good to me," Brick said. "What do you think, Danry?"

"A-Okay! We'll all get some major-wajor experience and we'll have almost no chance of losing!"

Kenshin turned to the other three, "Well, what do you guys think?" Lilani and Darla cheered for their response, however Ryden crossed his arms.

"I'm glad you asked our opinions first," he grumbled. "But I have no objections."

The mages and the melees separated into their groups of three, circling up and discussing their plans. Darla and Danry decided to dual heal the party, and Lilani would cover all enfeebles except dia and paralyze, which she left to the white mages. If the white mages got bored, they agreed that they could alternate casting divine spells and the periodic black magic spell.

The melees agreed that Ryden and Kenshin could alternately main tank, however Brick was to keep a lookout to see if he ever needed to provoke. Brick had a sack of pebbles on his side, and could always pick up more, so he was the one to pull.

After their plans were in order, the show began. It was by far the smoothest party any of them had ever experienced. The mages and the melees worked flawlessly in harmony; hardly anyone was hurt, and nearly all of their skills were dramatically increased. The day passed quickly, but what a successful day it was. When they left, the small coastline was reddened with blood, and no hostile creatures of any sort were anywhere in sight.

By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, and treated each other like good old friends. They laughed nearly the whole way to the tavern in Selbina.

"Did you _see _that last goblin run from the beach?!" Darla giggled. "I swear, I never would have guessed that one of those little lumps could move so fast! It was whining like a little pup!"

Brickhouse laughed, "Yes, and didn't you love how that last band of pugils just turned tail and darted into the water as soon as we _looked_ at them? Priceless!"

Everyone laughed again, sitting down at a large round table. They ordered their food and their drinks, and Kenshin began the more serious conversation.

He looked at Danry and Brickhouse first, "Alright guys, we're gonna be here to fight for two more days, and then we're gonna head off to Jeuno. I'm sure my posse here wouldn't mind you guys joining us, if you're still headed in that direction." Ryden's eyes narrowed as he heard the words, "_my_ posse."

"Doesn'taru sound like a bad idea to me," Danry replied, sipping his juice. "And, before you even ask, I think Brick and I would like to join your linkshell."

Brickhouse nodded, "I was going to say that myself. If our old linkshell didn't want us, we don't want them either. Best to just forget it and move on."

Kenshin took out his bright orange linkshell and tapped the base of it two times. It glowed bright for a second, and shortly dispensed two orange pearls from within. He put the pearls on the table, as Brick and Danry took one each.

Brickhouse opened his mouth, but Danry was the first to speak, "Hello-ello there, Abandon. A renegade Tarutaru and Galka pair have come to hijack your linkshell. Deliver all of your gil to the address we will state shortaruly and nobody will be harmed…"

Everyone at the table burst into laughter, slamming their fists on the table in mirth. Those listening on the linkshell paused for a moment, heard the distant laughter, and joined in as they realized it was only a joke.

When Brickhouse was able to breathe again, he spoke into his pearl, "Ah, but really, I am Brickhouse and the little jokester there is Danry. We have just joined your linkshell, speaking to you from Valkurm Dunes."

"Valkurm Dunes, eh?" A Hume named Eloriana inquired. "I take it Kenshin was the one to recuit you?"

"Actually, we sort of recruited ourselves," Brick replied, looking around at his friends at the table. "Kenshin, Ryden, Darla, and Lilani here saved our butts out here this morning and we teamed up for the day. I must say, it was about the most productive party I've ever had the joy of experiencing." Without showing it, all those at the table except for Danry were a bit taken aback at how civilized and eloquently Brickhouse spoke. It contradicted their first assumptions as to how the rather daunting Galka behaved. "So anyway, in the end we couldn't resist asking for pearls and finding out what kind of crew they work with."

"Well I hope you approve of what you find here at Abandon," Eloriana concluded. "See you around!"

Suddenly there was a pause of tentativeness, it seemed no others in the linkshell wanted to go out of their way to make their presence new. It is a fairly normal problem when new members arrive, no other members want to be constantly agitated by the newcomers and constantly questioned over the workings of the linkshell.

Striffy's voice from the pearl finally broke the silence. "Danry…would your full name happen to be Danius-Marcus?"

Danry's eyes widened in surprise. "Why, yes itaru is. Do I know you?"

"It's Striffy!" Striffy cried with exuberance. "Do you remember me?"

Danry gasped and slapped his forehead. "Oh, if course I remember you! How long has it been? Sixteen years?"

"Yes, I think that's aboutaru right. Wherever-whever did you go? Pipa was so worried about you!"

Danry was about to reply, but the voice of DS cut him off short. "Wait a minute, wait a minute! What is going on here?"

A woman named Yunu cut in, "Hey, DS, don't interrupt! Can't you see this is an important reunion here?"

"Yeah, well I'm putting it on a rain check until I know exactly what's going on here. So, one of you dearly beloved explain. Now."

Striffy sighed loudly, "If you mustaru know, DS, Danry and I are cousins. We were raised by the same surrogate mother, Old Lady Pipanini, because our parents were killed in the War."

"And, aboutaru sixteen years ago, I ran away. I'm much younger than Striffy, and everybody at the academy treated me like a little-widdle kid. I just got tired of it, so I left with some traveling merchants who were on their way to Jeuno. Then I joined Brick's linkshell and became an adventurer."

"So, that's how it all went down, huh," Striffy said in a wistful voice. "I didn'taru know it bothered you that bad…and I'm not _that _much older than you!"

"Then just how much _is _nine years to you anyway!" Danry laughed. By now the loud conversation had been heard in all corners of the restaurant, and the other customers were staring at the group in Selbina in awe. In the other parts of Vana'diel where the other members of the linkshell, dozens of other common folk heard the reunion as well. Some giggled, some rolled their eyes, but most just went along with their daily lives.

In the end, Striffy and Danry were so anxious to talk with each other that they had to separate from the others, and switch their linkshells to one-on-one chat. Danry went over to his own table, and Striffy did the same in wherever he was.

When things were finally quiet again, Kenshin couldn't help but shake his head, "What are the odds?"

Brick laughed, "Indeed. And for a moment there I was concerned he wouldn't fit in."

"All's well that ends well, I s'pose," said Lilani, taking a sip from her cup. "At least I'm no longerrr the new one around 'ere."

"Don't think like that so fast," Ryden chimed in, eyeing Lilani with the strangest of looks. "There's still a lot around here you need to be shown."

An awkward silence fell upon the group. Lilani's gut tingled with a slight sensation of nervousness, and Kenshin detected something more was going on than at first it seemed.

At that moment, their food arrived. The relief it generated was obvious on all of their faces, except for Ryden, who continued to look at Lilani oddly each time his eyes passed over her. The next few minutes at the table were spent in total silence, as each of them feasted as if they had been starved for a week.

When she was no longer painfully hungry, Darla cleared her throat to break up the silence, "So, you and Danry both have chocobo licenses, right Brick?"

"Of course," Brick answered, after slurping up an extraordinarily long noodle from his spaghetti. "I wouldn'tve even dreamed of going all the way from here to Jeuno without a bird."

"Great. So, in two days, our basic plan is to get up, walk to the Crag of Dem, and then chocobo for rest of the way to Jeuno?" she asked, now turning to Kenshin and Ryden.

"Yup," Kenshin said. "And until then we'll get up at our usual time of 6:00, have some breakfast, and head out to do our thing by 7:00."

"Sounds good enough," Ryden muttered, crossing his arms in an almost bitter manner. "But I'm getting tired of Whitebone Beach. Let's go somewhere else tomorrow, perhaps the secret beach?"

Darla giggled, "You mean the _not _so secret beach?"

Kenshin smiled at the cliché pun, "If nobody else objects, I don't see why not. Our main difficulty will be getting there though, that tunnel is overflowing with gobs, bats, lizards and the like."

"Sounds good to me, I'm always up for a challenge," was Brick's response. Darla nodded from behind her cup.

Lilani's hunger was ravenous from the moment they walked into the restaurant. She had ordered nearly a whole rack of ribs, and by this time, had devoured well over half of them. She took another hunger-crazed bite out of her current victim, and spoke out the side of her mouth that wasn't saturated with meat and sauce. "Sho, where is this sheecret beach, anywaysh?" she managed.

"It's hidden beyond a tunnel in the northernmost part of the desert," Ryden explained. "It's unknown to most on Vana'diel, but every adventurer knows about it. It's very secluded and _very _private." A suggestive smirk appeared on Ryden's face, and Kenshin frowned. He punched Ryden swiftly in the arm.

"What?" Ryden looked like a child who was attempting to look innocent after being suspected.

"You know what," Kenshin growled. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure, and he calmly returned his focus on Lilani. "Yes, the beach is usually fairly empty. There'll plenty of opportunity for us to remain quite busy all day."

Ryden giggled to himself, "Yes, very busy."

Lilani did not take Ryden's lewd humor lightly in any way. Her face went noticeably pale, and she stopped chewing. She felt nauseous, clutching her gut to gather the strength to swallow. Her breathing became more rapid, and she quickly pushed herself away from the table.

"I need some air," was all she could manage as she half-scrambled to the door.

Brick, Darla, and Danry had all not yet been briefed on Lilani's chronic shyness to flirting and advances. The behavior concerned Brick and Darla, however Danry had not even seen anything, due to his isolated conversation with Striffy.

Ryden only continued smiling, seemingly proud of what he'd just done. Kenshin stood up out of his chair with great force and grabbed Ryden by the armpit, yanking the unwilling Elvaan over to a far corner of the restaurant behind a makeshift screen. Although Ryden was much taller than Kenshin, the aggravated adrenaline flowing through his body could have pulled even a Galka larger than Brick across the room.

Kenshin shoved Ryden into the corner, purposefully slamming his head into the wall. He then took Ryden by the collar, nearly choking him while forcing him to stand on his toes. "You jerk! Just what do you think you're doing?! Didn't you hear anything I told you last week?! _Did you?!_"

Ryden wasn't expecting such a violent reaction, and didn't like being cornered, however he outwardly kept his cool. "Calm down, calm down, I was only playing with her. You know me better than that—you know I didn't _mean_ anything by it…"

Kenshin slammed Ryden's head against the corner again, "Well _she_ doesn't know that! Do you have any idea what she's been through?!"

When Ryden's eyes widened and his face showed a look of curiosity, Kenshin became aware he may have said too much.

"Okay, then just what _has _she been through, considering you seem to know more than I on the subject."

Kenshin released his grip on Ryden, and looked down at his own white, shaking fists. "I would need to ask Ani if I can tell you, and by the way things are going, I don't think she'll ever even want to hear your name again." He looked up and met Ryden's eyes with unwavering focus, "When I tell you to not do something, you don't do it. Don't argue and test your boundaries like some bratty little five-year-old. I have never expected anything unreasonable out of you, so you never argue with sensitive decisions."

Ryden scowled and narrowed his eyes, meeting Kenshin's glare with twice as much malice. "Now you listen to _me_, Hume scum. I've had enough of you telling me what to do, expecting me to respect you without a second opinion, and acting like you're the General and I'm the Private. You have no authority over me, I have every right to question what you do, and it is my obligation to make sure you are in the right. And I will tell you right now, this is anything but right."

Kenshin raised his right fist and stepped closer to Ryden, straining his neck to hold eye contact. "I have been leading this Linkshell since it was first started, and before then I lead HCLS Independent—years before I even met you. Since then, _nobody_ has ever seriously questioned my abilities as a leader. But then you came along, slithered your way to second in command, and now you go and bite the hand that pulled you up here in the first place. If you don't like it here, leave. Start your own linkshell for all I care—I hope it doesn't succeed. If you keep stepping out of line, I'll personally see you are _thrown _out and never even see Ani again."

Ryden looked at Kenshin, at his raised fist, and then back at Kenshin again. He smiled, and sighed, "Ah, just like you Humes to put violence before words. Honestly, you're no better than the Galka. Not that you _care _or anything…"

The personal blow to his character deficiency hit Kenshin hard—just as Ryden planned. Kenshin did not reach for his katana, however he made a successful uppercut straight into Ryden's jaw. An audible crack was heard by nearly everyone in the restaurant, and the lone bouncer of the place ran straight for the corner.

"Whataru's goin' on here, huh?!" asked the Tarutaru, who already had a dark elemental staff out and pointed at Kenshin. The orb of the staff was faintly glowing violet and magic crackled up and down the length of it, ready to strike at any second the Taru would whim.

Kenshin lowered his fists to his sides and got ready to explain, but Ryden was the first to point his finger. "This man here dragged me over here, started yelling at me for something, and then just punched me as I was trying to explain. Please escort him out immediately."

Kenshin's composure was lost once again and he turned around to Ryden again. "You coward!" He shouted, no longer caring who in the tavern heard him. "You talk a big game, but you never take responsibility for what you do! How _dare _you even consider yourself an adventurer!"

The seasoned Taru bouncer had seen many fights in his day, and knew that right there was the time to stop it. He released the energy that had been building in his staff upon Kenshin. It was a Shock spell. Kenshin cried out in pain and anger as the raw electricity stunned his muscles and forced him onto all fours. Ryden laughed out loud at the sight, and did the honor of literally kicking Kenshin while he was down, putting a nasty gash in both his upper and lower lips.

The Taru was astounded by the display of poor sportsmanship and disgrace. He released the spell on Kenshin and waved his staff at Ryden, forcing the Elvaan to harshly slam into the walls of the corner alternately. His cries were pitiful and babyish, begging for mercy before even apologizing or acknowledging that he had done anything wrong. This disgusted the Taru even more, and he released Ryden after one more slap against the back wall.

"You two can either work your problem-woblems outaru with words, or leave my sight within the next thirty-wirty seconds," the Taru said, impatiently propping his staff up by his side. "Which you choose doesn'taru matter to me."

Kenshin and Ryden regained their composure after a bit of groaning. They gave each other nasty looks, and after a bit of growling, walked passed the Tarutaru. Ryden returned to the table, however Kenshin bypassed everyone to go check on Lilani.

It took a few moments of awkward silence for conversations to restart between Darla and Brick. As soon as he sat down, Ryden disdainfully took a long drink out of his glass, drained the last of it, slammed it down onto the table, and began to tear apart his meal. Darla and Brick didn't know which was more horrifying, what had just happened, or how beastly he was ripping apart the meat and jamming it in his mouth.

Danry was aware something big had happened, but didn't want to interrupt Striffy, so he decided to ask about it later.

Kenshin exited the restaurant and looked around. She was nowhere to be seen, so he decided to explore the pathways in search of her.

It didn't take him long to locate her at the water's edge, leaning limply against the railing that separated the dock from the sea. She was nearly using the railing as a crutch, just hanging there like a rag doll, with her eyes fixed at the water below her. Kenshin slowly approached her, clearing his throat to announce his presence.

Lilani did not react at all. Her gaze remained securely fixed at the waves crashing in below her, as if she had fallen asleep there with her eyes open. Kenshin even more slowly and carefully made his way right next to her, gently placing his arm over her shoulders.

Very slowly, Lilani turned her head towards Kenshin, eventually finding his eyes. Kenshin looked back into hers, seeing deep pools of sadness where he had not long ago seen carefree happiness. On her cheeks were fresh trails of tears that led down her face, which she hadn't even bothered to wipe away. Her eyes also seemed to be disconnected from her mind altogether, her gaze was in no way focused, or filled with cohesive thought. If she weren't standing up on her own feet, Kenshin would have been tempted to think she was dead.

It was a long time before either of them spoke. They spent quite a while standing there, Kenshin over Lilani, both staring out at the ocean. After a while, both of them slowly calmed down, the tension worn away by soothing silence. The wound of the events were all still there, however the initial sting was gone.

Kenshin realized Lilani was too sensitive at that point to start the conversation, so he chose to begin. "I gave Ryden a good piece of my mind," he began, the edges of his mouth turning up. "And I gave him a better knot on his head."

Despite her emotional condition, a single huff of a laugh managed to escape from Lilani's lungs. Her mouth barely moved as she whispered, "I wish I could have seen it."

Kenshin looked down at her, "What Ryden said was out of line—no, beyond that. It was…despicable. Vile. Better behavior should be expected from goblins. I don't even know how to begin saying sorry…"

Lilani turned her head back to his, this time not able to quite look him in the eyes. "Then don't; it wasn't your fault. Ryden did it t' make you angrrry."

"I know, but I feel…responsible. I feel like I'm the one who caused this. Like if he weren't mad at me—"

"If he weren't mad at you," Lilani cut in, finally meeting his eyes, "then it wouldn't 'ave been Ryden we were talking to. He doesn't like taking orderrrs, it was only a matter of time before he got sick of it and began flirrrting on his own."

Kenshin nodded, "Yeah, you're right." There was silence for a moment, both looked back out at the sea. Kenshin kept his grip on Lilani. "You know, you learn a lot about people fast. It took me a long time to figure out Ryden doesn't like to be second in command, but you figured it out just like that."

Lilani smiled from the praise, but only for a second. "I've…seen a lot 'a people. I know how they behave, how they rrreact when they do or don't like doing something…" her voice trailed off, as if she decided it wasn't even worth saying.

Kenshin nodded slowly. "Go on," he quietly urged. He wanted to keep her talking, to make sure her shell didn't close up on him.

"Well, I sorrrt of find joy in it, you know? I like to watch how people behave togetherrr…it's fascinating. Like how so many are afraid to share what they 'ave to say out loud, so they give subtle or sometimes rrrude hints until someone gets the picture and reacts."

"Like the way Ryden makes sarcastic or acts difficult remarks every time I tell him what to do."

"Exactly. He doesn't want to come out and say he doesn't like being second place, so 'e just hints at it 'til you get ticked enough to do something about it," Lilani concluded. Her tone was harsh this time, releasing the fresh steam built up by her newfound disdain of Ryden. She found it very relieving, though she was still not ready to face everyone.

Kenshin smiled, glad she wasn't driven into a catatonic state by the whole affair. "I can lie to the others if you want, if you just want to sleep somewhere else alone tonight."

"That sounds…grrreat, thanks." Kenshin carefully unwound his arm off her, trying not to look like he was in a hurry. When they were separated, they looked at each other for a minute. Lilani cleared her throat, "Em, I guess I'll check myself into the infirmary up the strrreet. Surely they can spare a bed for the night."

"And I'll tell them…well, I'll figure out something," he chuckled.

Lilani leaned forward to hug Kenshin once more. "Thank you, so much. You'rrre such a good person…"

Kenshin blushed, "Thank you. You're a good person too. Now go, get some sleep. We'll decide what to do in the morning. Have a good night."

"Good night."

So the two went their separate ways until the morning. Lilani walked to the Selbina infirmary. She told them she had just gotten off the boat and felt very seasick. The white mages of the clinic had her lie down, gave her some herbal tea, and checked her vitals. She seemed perfectly healthy, though she was rather pale and had a slight temperature. The mages thought she might simply be looking for a bed to sleep in, but there was nobody else in the whole clinic, so they let her stay. The elder of them said that he could tell she was sick indeed, however tension easing herbs and a comforting bed were the only things they could offer as medicine to her.

When they asked her what else they could do, in genuine hopes there was anything at all, she simply told them that if an Elvaan who called himself Ryden or Rydenel showed up for whatever reason, to not let him see her. They knew not to ask why.

Kenshin went back to the tavern, however he moved his plate and moved between Brick and Darla. He couldn't think of any decent lies, and resorted to saying she was feeling sick and had to go to the infirmary. Ryden kept his silence, childishly picking at the last of his food, however Brick and Darla quickly asked if she was all right. Kenshin said all she needed was to be alone and rest for a while. He looked down at his food, but decided he'd lost his appetite and asked everyone else if they were ready to head to the inn. Darla nodded, and Ryden grunted. Brick waved his arm over at Danry. He rolled his eyes, whispered some concluding message to Striffy, and headed over to the table.

"Yes?"

"Kenshin wants to know if you're ready to hit the hay."

Danry gave him a mean look, "You interrupt my conversation for thataru?"

"Yes," Brick smiled, "You need to learn to give attention to both your friends and your relatives."

Danry sighed, "I suppose I am. Hey, what happened just a while ago with—"

"I'll tell you later," Brick harshly stated, giving Danry a critical look.

All five of them went to the front to pay their bills. Kenshin took Lilani's, a gesture which Ryden dramatically rolled his eyes at. Kenshin ignored him.

When all this was done, they said their good nights, and took off in different directions. Kenshin and Ryden both went to the inn, but quickly isolated themselves in their separate rooms. Darla, Brick, and Danry stuck together to discuss what had just happened. They began by telling Danry what they took from Kenshin and Ryden's exchange.

"Hm…I don'taru know which is more interesting…what Ryden did, or why Ani reacted like that…" Danry commented, trailing off in thought.

"We don't know, either," Darla sighed, shaking her head. "I know why Ryden did it, he didn't like the way Kenshin ordered him not to flirt, so he went and did it anyway. But I never would have expected someone as tough as Lilani to just break down like that…"

Brick shook his head as well, crossing his arms. "It's a mystery. Maybe someday one of them will come forward with the back-story on it. One thing's for sure, none of them want to go into detail right now. All we can do for now is not pick sides, and not say anything to add fuel to the fire."

"Humph, well if the time ever comes to pick sides, I'll choose Ani's lickity-wickity split!" Danry quickly said. "That Ryden is justaru too stuck up for his own good. I'd never support what he did in a million-billion years!"

Darla closed her eyes, "Well, I really hate to see our linkshell split like this, but I suppose it's been a long time coming. Let's go to the inn, guys. We've said all that can be said, and I don't think this is going to change how early we'll be getting up in the morning."


	6. Friction

I haven't forgotten this, really! In fact, it's all I can think about at times. But whenever I feel inspired, the last thing I have access to is my word processor :(

But enough about me and my problems, here's chapter six! I originally planned it to go much farther, but for length's sake, I had to find a new stopping point. But even after I knew I'd have to cut it short, I made it longer than I planned then to make it a bit more worth the wait.

Nobody new is really introduced, and quite honestly, not much happens. I put a lot of detail in this one, focused one everyone's mindset more. I added a bit of foreshadowing, threw in a dash of drama, stirred in some experimental syntax, and voila! Out of the oven came a bit, tasty Friction Pizza-Pie! 

(lolpun. now enjoy)

Chapter Six: Friction

The night went by relatively eventless. Everyone was all too happy to get to bed, and escape to their dreams away from the constant rivalry and arguments.

For Lilani, in particular, the morning came too soon. The nurses in the infirmary were happy to report that nobody had sought her out during the night. Lilani thanked them kindly, grabbed up her things, and left a bit of gil for them under her pillow.

The rest of them got up at about the same time, however Ryden and Kenshin were very strategic about when they left their rooms and where they went for breakfast. Kenshin went with Darla, Brick, and Danry to meet Lilani at the tavern. Ryden, on the other hand, went and got some food from a general store and ate alone at the dock.

At the usual time, they all met. Nobody exchanged any words past good morning, and they quickly made their way to the secret beach in the both northernmost and westernmost corner of the Valkurm Dunes. Brick, Darla, and Danry managed to break the ice that had frozen over their conversation about halfway up the bluffs. However, the conversing mostly stayed between them. Periodically they would attempt to include Kenshin, Lilani, and only once Ryden, but it never lasted long. The icy atmosphere made the fairly short trek ridiculously long.

All words, and almost breathing as well, stopped when the party came across a group of goblins at the entrance to the cave that separated the main area from the beach. They were huddled together in front of a campfire, still warming themselves up from the chilly desert night—for the sun had only just passed the shortest rock formations by then.

Under normal circumstances, they would be inclined to fight the whole pack. However, each of them knew it would be best to not make a lot of noise and fuss that could put everything make the other side of the rocks suspicious and on edge.

Carefully and quietly, they filed themselves behind a group of palm trees. "Darla, Dan, do you guys have Sneak and Invisible?" Kenshin whispered.

They both looked at each other, and nodded.

"Great. Let's move down a little farther and get it on everyone—yourselves last. As soon as each of you has both spells on, start running. If one starts to wear, just decide quickly as to whether you can duck for cover or if you need to just run on through."

So they all filed down the hill a bit together. Danry only cast sneak, and Darla only invisible. It was much more efficient this way; each person in the party could get each spell at about the same time, so they could quickly run off. They cast on Brickhouse first, and he took off running before the second spell was even complete, however he was still enough in range for the spell to complete. The only sign of him were his footsteps in the sand, though there was nothing they could do about that. After him they cast on Kenshin, then Lilani, and Ryden last. Then they each equipped themselves with the spells, and took off running at the back.

Brick made it to the end of the tunnel just fine. He did a bit of checking around to make sure there were no immediate dangers around the exit. Lilani's invisible wore soon after she got past the goblins, however much to her relief, she didn't really need it in the tunnel. Kenshin and Ryden made it through with just as much safety.

As Danry just peaked at the top of the hill, his invisible spontaneously wore with no forewarning. At first he froze, immediately locking his eyes on the goblins. They didn't see him, they were laughing and merrily drinking. He dove behind a tree and hurriedly cast invisible once more, praying to the goddess and the Star Sibyl that they wouldn't see the light of his spell.

They did not see him, or suspect anything. Danry sighed deeply before taking off to catch up with the others.

When Darla arrived at the end of the tunnel, she saw four of the members, but was unable to find Danry. "Where's Danry? Did he get passed here already?" she asked, inadvertently hushing her voice. Brick shrugged, and the others looked around. A grave look crossed Darla's face.

"I'm herey-were!" Danry called, dashing out of the tunnel at full speed. The other two mages could sense why he had dashed so much, his sneak was fading fast, and probably had been since he was halfway through the tunnel. "Sorry, my invisible wore just as I toppied the hill, so I had to recast," he managed to get out in one breath before gasping in for more air. "Everyone okay?"

"Yup, everyone's here!" Darla cheerfully called back. She turned to the rest of the crew. "Are we ready?"

Kenshin nodded, Ryden crossed his arms and shrugged, Lilani made eye contact with Darla, and Brick popped his knuckles. "That's the spirit," she muttered. "Alright, let's find camp."

It didn't take them long to find a spot. The beach was completely barren of all life, apart from the monsters, of course. It was abundant in flies and goblins, who were already eyeing the adventurers with caution. Pugils were riding the gentle tide off and onto the beach. The great fish didn't really need water to live, for they had lungs as well as gills and could float in the air, however they preferred the water over the land. Apparently, dryness irritated their scales.

They chose a safe spot that was on the coastline, but near to the tunnel, so that they could make a running escape if needed. The rock wall on their side also kept them from being so susceptible to sneak attacks from the behind. Kenshin, Ryden, and Brick began quietly discussing what monsters they should pull in to fight, how often, and how far they should stay from the mages. They used as few words as possible in the discussion, and never deviated beyond their primary point. Each of them knew keeping the conversation on business would be best for everyone. There was also no discussion on the possibility of letting Lilani be a melee this time.

During this time, the mages were casting defense and enhancement spells. When this was done, they meditated and readied their minds. They said nothing to each other, they all knew their jobs already. Just as before, Darla and Danry shared the healing. It was quite an advantage having two white mages; they could both keep the party healed with the lowest level cure spells, and because of this the monster the melees were whacking at never gave them a passing glance.

Lilani's job was primarily to keep the monster enfeebled, and then when this was done cast offensive black magic spells. She did know in the back of her mind that she would need to help the white mages if something went wrong, but with two of them, that was highly unlikely.

It didn't take them long at all to get started. The first monster they chose to get out of the way was a goblin, who had been watching them suspiciously from the moment they arrived. During the fight, there were others attempting to hide in various corners, however when they kicked the goblin's corpse into the tide, they made a quick getaway.

Next they began pulling pugils at a regular rate. They kept the fish they were fighting a fair distance from the rest on the beach, so that other groups of them wouldn't be inclined to join in the fight, but they weren't in as much danger as with the goblins. Pugil's senses are very dull, so fifteen to twenty feet was all they needed, as long as they didn't make a significant amount of noise.

And noise from each other was the least thing the party had to worry about. Not a one of the melees spoke any words outside of what was necessary for battle. Even the mages didn't chat amongst themselves or taunt the monsters as they normally did. It seemed everyone sensed the thin ice that was under their feet, and nobody was taking chances.

But the timid silence among them was nothing compared to the multitude of venom and distaste that could be read from the way they positioned themselves. Among the melees, Kenshin and Ryden were constantly on opposite ends of the monster. If Ryden scooted to the left, Kenshin scooted to his left. If Kenshin jumped to the right, Ryden would step that much to his right. Each and every time one moved from their original spot, even if only an inch, the other would adjust himself accordingly. It was a strange dance that the mages pensively observed.

Brickhouse was particularly annoyed by the odd tango. Since they were perpetually circling around and around the monster, he would have to follow them around. At one point, he got so sick of it he just stopped moving altogether. When Ryden came circling around, he grunted with frustration and simply ran around Brick's backside to pass him up. Kenshin narrowed his eyes and stepped that same direction a few feet, keeping their 180 degree pattern on key. Brickhouse's frustration peaked, and gave a mighty roar as he leaped forward and slugged the pugil so hard, it died of crushed lungs before he turned about and gave a skull-bashing blow to its head.

Danry and Darla stayed close to each other at all times. The friction they saw between Kenshin and Ryden made them edgy, so they stuck close to keep each other company, and so that they could not be singled out if something happened between the two.

Lilani stayed at least ten feet from everyone at all times. If the melees brought the monster near, she would respectively move up or down the beach, or climb up on a rock for the duration of the fight. Even if Darla and Danry were to drift her way, she kept her distance. Once or twice, if she was pressed too close to the tide line to move down any farther, she would run up the beach, passed whomever had invaded her space, and reposition herself at least twenty or thirty feet from where she had started.

It felt like ages before their noon break came. Kenshin, Ryden, and Lilani chose their own individual trees to sit under, while Brick, Darla, and Danry stayed in a group together. Both Kenshin and Ryden looked like children who were pouting for not having gotten their way about something. Lilani was in a trance, and seemed to be on the verge of being physically ill.

Since they were finally separated from everyone else, the latter three were able to discuss the nature of the party so far. They all instantly agreed that everyone was on edge, and that the party couldn't go on much longer under this much tension. They spent most of their time talking about what caused it, and what they could do about it. Toward the end of the break, they tentatively agreed on what had to be done. With some courage, they stood up and approached Kenshin—for they figured he would be the most open minded of the three to give their idea some thought.

"Hm…leave for Jeuno now, you say…" Kenshin whispered when they were done explaining, closing his eyes to think.

"Yeah, we think it would be best for everyone," Darla added. "Like we said, every one of us just seems to be out of it. And we should do as much as possible to avoid another feud…"

It took Kenshin less than a minute to think on it, but they all felt the need to squirm as they waited. "Okay," Kenshin finally said, standing up. "I'll go see what Ani thinks. You guys tell Ryden."

Darla, Brick, and Danry sighed in unison. They were afraid they might end up playing messenger between the two. However for the sake of stability, they took the job without complaint. They drug their feet over to Ryden's distant palm tree, from under which the Elvaan had been watching them the whole time with suspicious amusement.

Kenshin slowly approached Lilani from the front, making sure she could see him the whole time, so he wouldn't startle her out of her dreamlike-state. She was facing the ocean, her head propped up with one of her hands, and had her bright blue eyes fixed on the endlessly churning tide. She kept them there, too, until Kenshin knelt down in front of her. He was blocking her view of the sea, so her only choice was to look up at him. She did this, but only with her eyes. She did not move her body or her head, nor did she say a word.

"Hey," Kenshin began, only with a whisper. "Dar and the rest just told me that they think it would be best to just head up to Jeuno today. We'd get there by dinner time if we teleport out to Dem soon. What do you say?"

Lilani blinked, her gaze still fixed at him. Kenshin noticed a kind of glaze over her eyes—like the look of a mirror that has been etched. It seemed to separate her from the rest of the world; she may have been there looking up at him, but her mind was certainly not in the same place.

After a few moments of silence, Kenshin began wondering if she had heard him at all. Finally, she blinked a few more times, "I guess so."

Kenshin nodded and stood up straight. As he passed Lilani to get to the rest of the group, he gently brushed some of her hair with his hand. She did not outwardly react to the gesture.

Ryden was indifferent regarding the change of plans. He was perfectly aware he wasn't gaining anything from the party, however he detested chocobo rides. When he noticed the consensus was in favor of leaving, he agreed it would be best.

The five of them together formulated their travel plan, leaving Lilani to be by herself for just a little bit longer. After a while, Lilani noticed she was missing things, and she slowly stood up and approached the group. She made so little sound that they didn't even notice she was on her way until she was within three feet of the circle and wanting to get in. Darla and Brick graciously gave her a spot between them.

"Hey, how's things?" Brick asked, wanting to break the surprised silence that bewitched the circle when Lilani entered. Lilani nodded, and looked around at others to restart their conversation.

"Well, basically so far, we've decided-wided that the bestaru way to get to Jeuno before dark would be getting a teleportaru to Dem and then taking a chocobo the rest of the way," Danry explained. "Only problem is, none of us have Teleport-Dem, so we needy-weedy to seek one in Selbina."

Lilani nodded again, "Sounds good."

Kenshin cut in as well, trying to keep the ball of conversation rolling, "Our chances of finding one there are slim, but if we don't try, then we're stuck here for another night with nothing to do for the rest of the day."

"I checked the schedule last night, there should be a ship coming in soon from Mhaura. So our chances really shouldn't be _that_slim," Ryden intervened. He seemed to enjoy the sour taste the remark left in his mouth.

Kenshin's eyebrows furled, but he kept his cool. "Alright, then it's settled. We hurry on to Selbina, look for a white mage to teleport us to Dem, and then we take chocobos on into Jeuno." Ryden opened his mouth once more, and Kenshin turned his attention to him. "_I'll_be paying for the teleport, and if nobody here is that poor, I think we can all pay for our own chocobos."

Ryden closed his mouth, and smirked, "Then it is settled."

The walk back into Selbina was even less eventful than the walk from it. Nobody had any problems with sneak and invisible, and no monsters ever came within a significant distance to them. In a way, they missed the action. Without any distractions, they were forced to pay attention to and ponder on all of the recent drama. Just as before, Darla, Brick, and Danry were in a group together, and the rest were isolated away from each other. It was like this all the way into Selbina.

When they finally arrived, as Ryden predicted, a boat was being secured to the dock. Nobody had exited the boat yet, it had to be tied down first. They formed a neat line along the fence that separated the boarding area from the rest of Selbina. When the first group, very happily, stumbled out of the ship, Kenshin began shouting. "Anyone got a Teleport-Dem? I'll pay 1000 for each of us here! Anybody?"

Lilani noticed a flaw in Kenshin's plan. Most adventurers take the ship to get somewhere when they have no other way to get where they're going. So, it would be a rare occurrence indeed to find a white mage who could get them teleported and would be willing to cast warp or whatever to get themselves to their home point—something they could have done without even looking at the ship.

After about ten minutes, all of the passengers had filed out of the boat and were in line to be checked into Selbina. If one of them even took the time to pay attention to the party of six, it was only a short glance or a shaking of the head. Ryden sighed out of impatience, and Kenshin finally decided to stop yelling. He looked at his party members, looking for suggestions as to what to do next.

Throughout the whole affair, there was a young, silver-haired Elvaan watching them from the top deck of the ship. She was in full fisher's garb, which wasn't abnormal for the ship between Selbina and Mhaura. Experienced fishers take tickets on the ship, bring in quite a few fishing poles and bait, and ride the trip back and forth between the two towns to catch fish and test their skills. She had only ridden the path twice on her most recent ticket—some fishers spend weeks on the ship before taking their fish to market—and she was only going to help them out if it were a last resort. From the looks on the other passengers, she figured it was time to help. With a sigh, she grabbed up her bucket and equipment and left the ship.

When she took her place in line, she waved her hand at Kenshin. Darla had to nudge him to get him to look that way. The Elvaan smiled, and Kenshin smiled back. They wouldn't have to walk to the crag after all!

When she got herself and all of her things through the checkpoint, she only had to walk two feet before the whole party was circled around her.

"Thank you so much!" Kenshin grinned, holding his hand out to shake her hand. "We were afraid we'd have to walk all the way to the crag!"

"Ah, 'tis not a problem atall!" she replied, accepting Kenshin's shake with a firm squeeze.

"_According to her accent, I'd say she didn't grow up in San d'Oria…_" Ryden thought to himself.

"So, where're ya'll headed to, if ye don't mind me askin'?" she inquired, gesturing them to gather a bit closer so no one would be left behind. They did so, a few quite reluctant.

Ryden was the one to answer this time. "We're going to Jeuno, to meet others from our linkshell. It's a reunion of sorts."

"Aaah, so you're all together then! Well, good luck to ye indeed! Now hold on then, we're castin' off!"

The Elvaan cast Teleport-Dem with as much zeal as she had spoken with. Finally, after quite a few moments of chanting and building her energy with many lights and bubbles, she enthusiastically threw her hand up in the air. With one final note, a blinding light seared out of her hand, forcing everyone to close their eyes, if only for a second.

When their eyes collectively opened again, the whole group was in the Konschtat Highlands, circled evenly around a tall, spinning crystal.

"Well, here we are! Extend my well wishes t' yer linkshell, if ye don't mind! Happy trails!" Before anyone could thank the nameless Elvaan once more, she had already cast warp and was dissolved to a twinkling cloud of fading magical static.

When everyone regained their wits and mobility from the power that charged through them during the teleport, they approached the female Elvaan that lent chocobos out to adventurers. Luckily, another party had recently returned their chocobos, so there was plenty for everyone.

The behavior each individual exhibited during the ride to Jeuno was parallel to that of how they behaved that morning, though even more vividly illustrated. At first, Kenshin was in the lead, with Lilani hovering near his right, and Ryden off to the left but still even with him. The other three were grouped in the back, none of them caring as to who was first or last. Just before they exited the valley area that lead into the Pashow Marshlands, Ryden gave his chocobo an extra hard kick, propelling him far ahead of Kenshin.

Kenshin simply rolled his eyes, and kept his focus on Lilani, who was still consciously hovering near him throughout the ride.

"Are you okay?" he asked at one point, noticing she was still not quite all there.

Lilani shook her head out, "Yeah, I'm feelin' a bit betterrr, it's just…this feud, it makes me uncomfortable."

The corners of Kenshin's mouth turned down. He looked forward at the path ahead of him, and let his eyes drift to Ryden. Lilani didn't miss the vengeful look in Kenshin's eyes, and it only made her even more uneasy. She knew well it wasn't anywhere near over.

The party reached Jeuno about two hours before sunset, quite a bit earlier than expected. The unofficial race that Kenshin and Ryden participated in accelerated the entire party, and improved their time of arrival.

In Lower Jeuno, the six dropped off their chocobos at the stable, and the planned out their evening.

"Everyone should begin arriving tomorrow around noon at the Merry Minstrel Meadhouse here in Lower Jeuno for the reunion," Kenshin announced. "Until then, you guys are free to shop, drink, talk, fight, whatever floats your boat." He turned to Brickhouse and Danry. "You guys don't really have to come at all, but it'd be great way to meet the other members," now he eyed Danry particularly. "Especially certain relatives."

"Well, you can countaru me in!" Danry chimed, his eyes glimmering with enthusiasm. "Whadda you say, Brick?"

Brickhouse smiled, "Count me in too, I'm always up for meeting new people. Especially when I gotta talk with them every day."

They all chuckled, and Kenshin addressed the latter two and Lilani this time. "Do any of you need help getting around here? Finding the auction house, stores, mog houses, anything?" The three looked at each other for a moment, and shook their heads. "Alright, then, see you around! You don't _have_to leave or anything, but you're free to go."

Ryden yawned very dramatically, stretching out all of his body that he could. "Well, this has all been fun, but I've got bigger fish to fry. Ta, all." He turned around and began walking away, holding his hand up to signify a limp wave.

"You_are_coming tomorrow, right Ryden?" Kenshin sternly asked, directly addressing Ryden for the first time in a long while.

Ryden stopped, but didn't turn. "I might, it just depends," he smirked, and walked away for good this time.

Kenshin fumed. Darla finally broke the silence for him, "Well, good night everyone, I think I'm just going to go right to my mog house and lie down. It's been a long day." The others nodded to her, and after giving Kenshin a long, concerned look she walked down the street as well.

Danry and Brick looked at each other again. "Eh, ta-taru. See you tomorrow," Danry muttered, almost to himself.

"See you around," Brick added, nodding to Kenshin and then to Lilani.

Lilani nodded back. "Night," she whispered. The two walked off together, but did not have the same destinations.

Finally, it was her and Kenshin. He turned to her, "I'm so, _so_sorry about the way Ryden's been treating you."

Lilani managed a smile, "It's no prrroblem, it's not yer fault."

Kenshin sighed and looked at the ground, trying to think of something to say without repeating what he's said before. "You…don't have to come tomorrow, if you don't want to," he finally said. "If it's too much…I mean, if you don't want to be around him."

"I'll come, don't worry. I think Ryden's smarterrr than making an entire group angry with him at once."

Kenshin chuckled, "Oh, you'd be surprised."

Lilani's smile was genuine this time. She looked at him, "Well, see you tomorrrow, then."

"See you tomorrow. I'll be at the tavern most of the night tonight finishing up the preparations, you can find me there if you need me."

"Thanks, I'll remember that."

At first, they were headed down the lane together, in close proximity with each other. They almost looked like a couple. But when they got to the tavern, they parted, offering each other awkward waves in farewell.

When Kenshin disappeared behind the door of the building, Lilani couldn't help but sigh. "_Oh…what 'ave I gotten myself into now?_"

She trudged up the stairs to the auction house square, scanning the whole place for any sign of Ryden. When she deemed the area safe, she entered one of the long lines in front of the auction house service windows.

Lilani spent the rest of her evening shopping, meandering about, and simply watching the multitude busy Vana'dielians pass by. Everyone who took the time to pay attention to her noticed the glaze over her eyes; the invisible barrier that seemed to separate her head from body entirely. It was plain as day that she wasn't all there, and more even importantly, that she didn't want to talk about it.

Just before dusk, Lilani paid a visit to Port Jeuno to watch the airships take off and dock. Her view wasn't prime, considering she didn't have an airship pass to buy a ticket and go out to the main loading area, but she could still see most of the takeoff and landing processes of the wondrous flying boats.

Finally, when the last of the lamps were being lit, Lilani made her way to the residential area. After speaking with the mog house official, he used a special linkshell to make contact with her moogle. When her moogle was informed, he promised he'd be there with all of her things by the time she could walk to her mog house.

"Oh, and Master, would you like me to stay with you this time, or leave, kupo?" she heard her moogle ask. The official looked up at her, impatiently wanting an answer.

Lilani thought for a moment, and out of pity for the creature she felt she had abandoned, agreed to let him stay with her for the night.

"Kupopo_po!_ Hurray! I'll be down there in a jiffy, Master!"

Normally when Lilani allowed her moogle to stay with her overnight (as was considered normal among most adventurers), she didn't sleep as well as she could alone. She figured it was just the thought of someone else there, in the same room, waiting for and anticipating awakening and her request something for breakfast. But after a while of denying her faithful, doglike companion a place in her room, Lilani had to give in and prove to him she didn't hate him.

After dinner, Lilani went straight to bed. Because of the drama and travel-filled day, she was rather exhausted, and slept as good as ever. She managed to block out her dreads of the feud with happier thoughts of meeting the interesting characters of Abandon in flesh and blood, rather than magical waves being emitted at different frequencies.

Her dreams produced a few scenes of this merriment, however most of her dreams were filled with strange images. She envisioned herself, traveling far and wide across Vana'diel, and searching for things and fighting—all for the same end goal. She began to frequently see the figures of Tarutaru, a few familiar, and one she had never met, but felt very close to.

When she woke up, there was light coming through the single window of the mog house. She felt alert and refreshed from the full sleep she had, but was uneasy from what she saw in the end.

"What would you like for breakfast, Master? Kupo?" her moogle asked.


End file.
